A historic fort in northeast Iowa is open to visitors again after completion of a major preservation project.
The centerpiece of the Fort Atkinson State Preserve in Winneshiek County is a frontier outpost, built by the U-S Army in 1840. Iowa D-N-R district supervisor Detra Dettmann says some of the fort’s original structures were dismantled, with each stone carefully labeled, then reassembled.
The historic site includes several original buildings, like barracks and a gunpowder house, along with archaeologically significant artifacts.
The repairs were funded in part through a grant from the Save America’s Treasures program, through the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior, and donations from the Friends of Fort Atkinson. The preserve is now open daily, year-round.
The fort was built to keep the peace between various Native American tribes while preventing white settlers from encroaching on Indian lands.
Visitors to the preserve can relive the past at the annual Fort Atkinson Rendezvous as historic reenactors dressed as soldiers and frontiersmen populate the outpost. This year’s event is scheduled for September 28th and 29th.
