Fort Abercrombie
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Fort Abercrombie was an American fort established on August 28, 1858, on the Red River in Dakota Territory by Lieutenant Colonel John J. Abercrombie. It was the first permanent military settlement in what became North Dakota, and is known as "the Gateway to the Dakotas".
Because the original location was prone to flooding, a new fort was built at a higher location in 1860. It was abandoned in 1877 and the town of Abercrombie, North Dakota was founded a half mile west. It was besieged by the Dakota (Sioux) for more than six weeks during the Sioux Uprising of 1862.
The fort naturally served as a transportation hub as it guarded the oxcart trails of the late fur trade, military supply wagon trains, stagecoach routes, and steamboat traffic on the Red River. The original buildings were destroyed after the fort was abandoned, but a Works Progress Administration project in 1939-1940 reconstructed three blockhouses and the stockade and returned the original military guardhouse to the site.
Today it is known as 'Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site and includes a modern museum, pavillion in the town of Abercrombie, and the fort itself a quarter mile east.
| Sioux Uprising |
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| Lower Sioux Agency – New Ulm – Redwood Ferry – Fort Ridgely – Birch Coulee – Fort Abercrombie – Wood Lake – Camp Release |
