08 July 2021
Today we drove to Fort Atkinson,IA to visit the site of Fort Atkinson in the town of said name. It is around 160 miles from Fairmont,MN. John wanted to make 2 stops enroute to get Photos of Waverly AFS which is now a private housing community and in Arlington of an FAA site.
The drive to Fort Atkinson takes you thru rolling hills, farm lands and granite cliffs. Seems we are spending more time driving the back roads of Iowa instead of Minnesota. There is a pride of ownership evident from the upkeep of the farm homes and structures. Most of the yards have nice flower beds and lawns are manicured. Main crops are soy beans and corn.
Fort Atkinson was established in 1840-1849 on the West bank fo the Turkey River in order to protect the nearby Winnebago Tribe and reservation. Constuction materials were hauled from Prairie du Chien some 50 miles away in Wisconsin. When the post was complete there some 24 buildings inside the stockade and 14 outside.
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| Signage |
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| Map of Post |
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| Entrance |
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| Barracks |
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| Blockhouse |
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| Interior of Blockhouse |
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| Magazine |
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| Guardhouse |
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| Parade Ground |
When the Winnebago were moved to a new reservation in Minnesota in 1849, the buildings were sold at public auction in 1853.
Some of the stuctures have been reconstructed.
We returned back to camp around 700PM.
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