Fort Ridgely
Fort Ridgely | |
 Fort Ridgely in 1862 | |
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| Location | Nicollet County, south of Fairfax, Minnesota |
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| Coordinates | 44°27′3″N 94°43′54″W / 44.45083°N 94.73167°W |
| Built | 1853 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000304[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 02, 1970 |
Fort Ridgely was a United States Army outpost (1853–1867) near the Dakota reservation in southwestern Minnesota (located near Fairfax). Built between 1853–1854, it was named for three officers named Ridgely who were killed in the Mexican–American War.[2] The fort played an important role in the Dakota War of 1862.[3] The Battle of Fort Ridgely was fought there in two engagements over August 20–22, 1862 between Army volunteers and refugees from the Minnesota River valley, and Dakota forces.
The Army abandoned the fort in 1867 and moved westward. Civilians occupied the remaining buildings and later dismantled the structures for their own use.
Today the building foundations are preserved by the Nicollet County Historical Society and owned by the Minnesota Historical Society within the boundaries of Fort Ridgely State Park. The old commissary building (partially reconstructed by the Veteran Conservation Corps in the 1930s) now houses the museum. The fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, while much of the park was added in 1989.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 373.
- ^ "Park Info: Fort Ridgely State Park". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
Further reading
- Barnes, Jeff. Forts of the Northern Plains: Guide to Historic Military Posts of the Plains Indian Wars. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
External links
Media related to Fort Ridgely at Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Ridgely State Park from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- Minnesota Historical Society: Fort Ridgely
- Nicollet County Historical Society
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- Dakota War of 1862
- Forts in Minnesota
- Military and war museums in Minnesota
- Military sites of the wars between the United States and Native Americans
- Minnesota in the American Civil War
- Minnesota state historic sites
- Museums in Nicollet County, Minnesota
- Minnesota Historical Society
- Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
- 1853 establishments in Minnesota Territory
- Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
- National Register of Historic Places in Nicollet County, Minnesota