Fort James (South Dakota)

Last updated
Fort James
Hanson County, on the James River.
Fort James Location.png
Looking downstream from Fort James
Site information
Controlled byPrivate owner
Site history
Built1865
In use1865-1867
Materialsstone & wood
Garrison information
Garrison
Fort James (39HS48)
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
NRHP reference No. 84003290 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 15, 1984

Fort James was a cavalry fort built in 1866 in Dakota Territory. It was soon decommissioned and its site now is in the state of South Dakota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Contents

History

In 1835 and 1857, the United States signed treaties with the native nations in western Minnesota and northern Iowa that obligated the federal government to provide food to these peoples. However the Civil War prevented it from fulfilling its these obligations and corrupt Indian agents and traders skimmed off what little came into the reservations. Starving, a handful of Dakota warriors raided farms for eggs and other supplies, killing 5 settlers. This broke Dakota inertia, bringing young warriors out to begin raiding along the Minnesota River Valley. Although no fighting took place in Dakota Territory, people of all ethnicities fled into it for refuge. [2] In 1863 disturbances near Yankton, South Dakota, alarmed settlers and the territorial authorities assigned units of soldiers to scout and patrol the area. [3]

As a result, Fort James was founded on the west bank of the James River at its confluence with Firesteel Creek. It was first established in September 1865 by Captain Benjamin King, 6th Iowa Cavalry, as Fort La Roche or Fort Des Roche, on the orders of Brigadier General Alfred Sully. [4] Built as protection from outbreaks of Native American aggression, its detachments of troops were there to make prospective settlers feel safe. [5] [6] The soldiers were the first non-Sioux to settle in the county and non-Sioux civilian settlement didn't begin until 1872, six years after the fort was abandoned. [7] It was also known as Camp Near Firesteel Creek and only became known as Fort James after its decommissioning. [8]

The fate of the fort

Its log and stone quadrangle served to protect stagecoaches and settlers for roughly a year before it was decommissioned on October 6, 1866. Settlers who came later scavenged most of the fort's materials for their own constructions. [9] In 1872 a reporter from the Yankton Press noted the massive walls of the abandoned fort still standing as he travelled up the James River. [10] When Hanson County was organized, old Fort James became the first temporary county seat and was known as Rockport. [11]

Television Coverage

Fort James was the subject of an episode of the PBS TV archaeology series Time Team America . [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ Sundstrom, Ph.D., Linea (2018). "South Dakota State Plan for Archaeological Resources 2018 Update". South Dakota State Historical Society. p. 348. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  3. ↑ Schell, Herbert Samuel (1975). History of South Dakota. Internet Archive. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-8032-0851-3.
  4. ↑ State Department of History, ed. (1916). "South Dakota Historical Collections, Illustrated with Maps and Engravings". sdsdl-montage.auto-graphics.com. Pierre, South Dakota: State Department of Publishing. p. 533. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ↑ Sundstrom, Ph.D., Linea (2018). "South Dakota State Plan for Archaeological Resources 2018 Update" (PDF). South Dakota State Historical Society. p. 712. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  6. ↑ Karolevitz, Robert F. (2000). Challenge : the South Dakota story. Internet Archive. Sioux Falls, SD Brevet Press. Pages 82 and 85. ISBN   978-0-88498-031-5.
  7. ↑ Robinson, Doane (1904). History of South Dakota. Internet Archive. B. F. Bowen & Co. p. 400.
  8. ↑ "South Dakota Forts". www.northamericanforts.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Robert B. (1988). Encyclopedia of historic forts : the military, pioneer, and trading posts of the United States. Internet Archive. New York : Macmillan ; London : Collier Macmillan. p. 730. ISBN   978-0-02-926880-3.
  10. ↑ Robinson, Doane (1904). History of South Dakota. Internet Archive. B. F. Bowen & Co. p. 252. ISBN   978-0-598-27657-5.
  11. ↑ Goodspeed, Weston Arthur (1904). Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota. Weston Historical Association. p. 264.
  12. ↑ "Fort James - Time Team America - PBS". Fort James - Time Team America - PBS.

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References

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