Fort Abraham Lincoln

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Fort Abraham Lincoln was an important infantry and cavalry post about seven miles south of today's Mandan, North Dakota and was built by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Huston. It was home for several years to the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, which had been assigned to Dakota Territory in fall of 1873 to the fort to provide protection for surveyors and workers constructing the Northern Pacific Railroad. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led the 7th Cavalry westward from the fort in May of 1876 on its ill-fated expedition against the Sioux at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After the railroad to Montana was completed in 1883, the fort was no longer needed. It was officially abandoned in 1891 by order of Congress. A new Army post, Fort Lincoln was then built on the east side of the Missouri River, south of Bismarck, North Dakota.

Earlier, Mandan Indians had occupied this site, from approximately 1575 until 1781, when the village was abandoned.

[edit] State park

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the deed to the land to the state in 1907 as Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a visitor center, shelters, and roads. They also reconstructed military blockhouses and placed cornerstones to mark where fort buildings once stood, as well as replicating Mandan earthen lodges. Additional reproductions have since been built on the site creating a replica Mandan village, called "On-a-Slant Village." A reproduction of Custer's house was built in the park in 1989, in time for the state of North Dakota's centennial. The park also includes a campground and picnic area.

[edit] Notable resident

• Frank L. Anders - Medal of Honor recipient and notable businessman was born here in 1877

[edit] External links

• Map links: 46°45′51″N, 100°50′59″W
• Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
• Restored Fort Abraham Lincoln
• Fort Abraham Lincoln Park