Fort Abraham Lincoln--The Infantry--Part II

http://www.parkrec.nd.gov/parks/falsp/falsp.html
All photos by "Molly" Marston

One of the three reconstructed block houses on the original sites

Sometime after the Mandans deserted their On-A-Slant Village, the military established an infantry post on a bluff above the On-A-Slant ruins. In preparation for the Northern Pacific Railroad to lay its track to the Missouri River and beyond, the military was dispatched to the area. In June 1872, an infantry post, called Fort McKeen, was built by Companies B and C of the 6th Infantry. The name Fort McKeen was short-lived; the designation was changed to Fort Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1872.

Three of these blockhouses high on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River have been reconstructed.  There are stairs that will take one to the top.  The vista is magnificent.   The climb up the last several steps were very challenging for this old lady (well, 66 isn't that old, but I felt it trying to climb up there). The last several steps were kind of like a ladder, but with nothing to hang on to.  The climb, however, was well worth it.  But I decided that climbing to the top of one was enough.

None of the original buildings currently exist, but the corners of each building is outlined in brick.  Good interpretive signs exist around the short trail detailing the buildings and their uses.

We were up on the top of this blockhouse

At the top of the blockhouse