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Fort Snelling
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Fort Snelling's round tower
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| Location: | Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA |
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| Nearest city: | Across Mississippi River from Saint Paul, at 7th Street Bridge, St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Built: | 1819 |
| Architect: | Colonel Josiah Snelling |
| Governing body: | Minnesota Historical Society |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000401 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | 15 October 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL: | 19 December 1960[2] |
Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a National Park Service unit, includes historic Fort Snelling.
Fort Snelling also refers to an unorganized territory in Hennepin County, Minnesota, containing the former fortification. The Census in 2000 enumerated a total population of 442.
The Minnesota Historical Society now runs the fort, located atop a bluff along the river. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources runs Fort Snelling State Park, protecting the land at the bottom of the bluff. Fort Snelling once encompassed both parcels.
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Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1805 acquired Pike's Purchase, 100,000 acres (400 km²) of land in the area. Significant settlement began in the late 1810s. Following the War of 1812, the federal War Department built a chain of forts and installed Indian agents between Lake Michigan and the Missouri River. These forts primarily protected the northwestern territories from Canadian and British encroachment. The Army founded Fort Saint Anthony in 1819.
Colonel Josiah Snelling commanded the 5th Infantry Regiment (United States). Its soldiers constructed the original Fort Saint Anthony from 1820 to 1824. During construction, most soldiers lived at Camp Coldwater, which provided drinking water to the fort throughout the 19th century. The post surgeon began recording meteorological observations at Fort Saint Anthony in January 1820, beginning one of the longest near-continuous weather records in the country. Upon its completion in 1825, the Army renamed the fort as 'Fort Snelling in honor of its commander and architect.
The soldiers at the northwestern frontier outposts denied persons other than citizens of United States of America commercial use of the rivers, kept American Indian lands free of white settlement until treaties permitted it, enforced law and order, and protected legitimate travelers and traders. At Fort Snelling, the garrison also attempted to keep the peace between the Ojibwe and Sioux (Dakota) people.[3]
Colonel Snelling suffered from chronic dysentery, and bouts of the illness made him susceptible to anger. Recalled to Washington, he left Fort Snelling in September 1827. Colonel Snelling died in summer 1828 from complications due to dysentery and a "brain fever."
John Emerson purchased the slave Dred Scott in Saint Louis, Missouri, but he later worked at Fort Snelling and lived at the fort with Dred and Harriet Scott during much of the 1830s. Missouri Compromise then made slavery illegal in Minnesota Territory. Life of Dred Scott in Minnesota led to the infamous United States Supreme court case Dred Scott v. Sandford.
The establishment and population of towns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota diminished the need for a forward frontier military post in the region. The Army sold Fort Snelling to Franklin Steele in 1858 for $90,000. (Fortunately for Steele, the deal included 8000 acres (32 km²) later annexed into south Minneapolis.)[4]
During the American Civil War, however, Franklin Steele leased Fort Snelling back to the War Department for use as an induction station. In fact, it was used as a concentration camp during the Dakota War of 1862, where hundreds of women, children, and elders were held captive on Pike Island through the winter of 1862-63.[5] After the war, Steele leased the land around Fort Snelling to settlers, and the town of Minneapolis began to expand. The town of Minneapolis incorporated a city in 1867.[6] United States Army regulars meanwhile returned to Fort Snelling. Fort Snelling dispatched forces to protect the interests of the white colonizers on the frontier from the Dakota people, west to the Rocky Mountains. Soldiers from Fort Snelling fought in the Indian Wars and the Spanish American War of 1898.[3]
Through World War II, the War Department chose Fort Snelling as the location for the Military Intelligence Service Language School to teach the Japanese language to Army personnel. The War Department constructed scores of buildings for housing and teaching, and the school processed three hundred thousand soldiers.[3][4]
The War Department decommissioned Fort Snelling on 12 October 1946, and various federal agencies took parcels from the grounds of the old fort. The majority of the structures fell into disrepair. In 1960, it was listed as a National Historic Landmark.[2][7]
Fort Snelling nevertheless continued to serve as headquarters of United States Army Reserve 205th Infantry Brigade comprised three light infantry battalions and attached field artillery, cavalry, air defense artillery, combat engineers, and supporting logistics units throughout the Upper Midwest. The Defense Department deactivated this role in 1994 as a part of force-structure eliminations. Over the decades, the Army interred many deceased Minnesotan soldiers and other members of the United States Armed Forces at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Some military facilities continue to operate around old Fort Snelling.
Minnesota Historical Society meanwhile converted the area of the original walled fort into an educational establishment, rebuilt to resemble its original appearance, and staffed during the spring, summer and early fall with costumed personnel interpreting life at the early post. Although restoring and re-creating the original fort assures its survival as a historical artifact for the foreseeable future, many briefly used buildings of the fort gradually fell into serious disrepair and neglect. In May 2006, National Trust for Historic Preservation added Upper Post of Fort Snelling to its list of "America's Most Endangered Places." Some restoration on historic Fort Snelling, however, continues underway: crews removed the flagpole from the iconic round tower and will placed it in the ground, a change since its opening as a historic fort.
United States Navy named an amphibious warfare ship USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30) to honor the fort.
The fort is located on Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, an unincorporated area and division of Hennepin County lying just east of the city of Richfield. It is also adjacent to the cities of Minneapolis, Bloomington, Saint Paul (across the Mississippi River), and Mendota Heights (across the Minnesota River). The fort is located at the eastern end of the territory, near the confluence of the Mississippi River with the Minnesota River.
Fort Snelling unorganized territory contains numerous military and other federal facilities. These facilities include historic Fort Snelling, its cemetery, and the Minneapolis Veterans Health Administration Medical Center. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, however, includes most of the land area of the unorganized territory. According to the United States Census Bureau, this unorganized territory has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²). 16.5 km² (6.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water.
As of the census[8] of 2000, 442 people reside in the unorganized territory. The population density is 26.8/km² (69.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the unorganized territory is 94.57% White, 3.62% Black or African American, 1.36% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, and 0.23% of other races. 0.45% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The population is spread out with 4.5% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 62.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 69 years.
Males had a median income of $43,558 versus $0 for females. The per capita income is $24,328. None of the population is below the poverty line.
Compass Airlines has its corporate headquarters on the grounds of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory. The airline moved its headquarters there on 16 December 2009.[9][10]
Prior to its disestablishment, Republic Airlines (1979-1986) had its headquarters on the grounds of the airport and in what is now Fort Snelling.[10][11] At one time Mesaba Airlines had its headquarters in the UT.[10][12] At one time MAIR Holdings had its headquarters in the UT.[13]
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