Fort Winnebago site and historical marker

Fort Winnebago was a 19th-century

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

located on a hill overlooking the eastern end of the portage between the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

and

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskou ...

s east of present-day

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. P ...

. It was the middle one of three fortifications along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway that also included Fort Howard in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea l ...

and Fort Crawford in

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...

. Fort Winnebago was constructed in 1828 as part of an effort to maintain peace between white settlers and the region's Native American tribes following the

Winnebago War The Winnebago War, also known as the Winnebago Uprising, was a brief conflict that took place in 1827 in the Upper Mississippi River region of the United States, primarily in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Not quite a war, the hostilities ...

of 1827. The fort's location was chosen not only because of its proximity to the site of

Red Bird Red Bird (–16 February 1828) was a leader of the Winnebago (or Ho-Chunk) Native American tribe. He was a leader in the Winnebago War of 1827 against Americans in the United States making intrusions into tribal lands for mining. He was f ...

's surrender in the Winnebago War, but also because of the strategic importance of the

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a heavily traveled connection between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. Fort Winnebago's location near the portage allowed it to regulate transportation between the lakes and the Mississippi. With the exception of the participation of troops from the fort in the 1832

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

, Fort Winnebago was not involved in any combat operations during its occupation by the U.S. Army. Instead, the garrison, which from 1829 to 1831 included Lt. Jefferson Davis (later

President of the Confederate States of America The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army and the Co ...

), was put to work in building a military road between Portage and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and assisting with the relocation of the

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Io ...

Nation from Wisconsin to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

during the 1840s. In 1845, the absence of any real threat to peace in the region prompted the abandonment of the fort. Nine years later the site was sold into private hands, and in 1856 a fire destroyed much of the fort.

Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters

Today, all that remain intact are the fort's surgeon's and officers' quarters. This structure now operates as the Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters, a historic house museum operated by the Wisconsin Society

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promot ...

, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. The museum's grounds also include Garrison School, a one-room schoolhouse used from 1850-1960 and furnished to appear as in the 1850s.

Indian Agency House

The Fort Winnebago Old Indian Agency House, is the only known Indian Agency still located on its original location. Known as the Historic Indian Agency House, it is also an original structure associated with the fort. It was erected in 1832 by the U.S. Government as a residence and office for Indian sub-Agent John Kinzie, who served as a liaison between the local Ho Chunk (also known as Winnebago) Nation and the U.S. Government. It has been operated as a museum since 1932 by

The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services were rendered during the Colonial Pe ...

in the State of Wisconsin. The Historic Indian Agency House is listed as nationally significant on the Register of Historic Places and is open to the public for visitation May 15 through October 15 each year.

References

External links

Fort Winnebago Historical Site
- Wisconsin Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Historic Indian Agency House
* {{Coord, 43, 33, 16.21, N, 89, 25, 58.25, W, type:landmark, display=inline,title Historic American Landscapes Survey in Wisconsin

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

Museums in Columbia County, Wisconsin Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin Historic house museums in Wisconsin Military and war museums in Wisconsin Medical museums in the United States Education museums in the United States Portage, Wisconsin

National Register of Historic Places in Columbia County, Wisconsin 1828 establishments in Michigan Territory Fox–Wisconsin Waterway Black Hawk War forts