Fort Atkinson State Preserve

In 1830, the federal government and various Native American tribes signed the Fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien, which created a 40-mile wide "neutral ground" in northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. This area served two main purposes. First, it was meant to act as buffer zone between the Sioux Indians and the Sac and Fox Indians. It was intended to serve as a temporary reservation for the Ho-Chunk Indians (who are also known as the Winnebago) whose traditional lands were in Wisconsin. On May 31, 1840 the U.S. Army established the Fort Atkinson outpost to prevent the Ho-Chunk from returning to Wisconsin and to protect them from other tribes and white settlers. Today the site features the outline of the fort and several buildings including the remains of the north barracks and the powder magazine building. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Fort Atkinson Historic District.

During the 1800s, as the country expanded west, the Indian policy of the federal government was to remove and relocate Indians to reservations. The Fort Atkinson site represents this effort in the Upper Midwest, an area the federal government grew increasingly concerned about after the War of 1812. Warfare between the tribes hindered the fur trade and the encroachment of white settlers and miners resulted in hostilities between them and the tribes. In August 1825, officials of the federal government and the tribes in the region met at Prairie du Chien to negotiate a treaty. The gathering resulted in the First Treaty of Prairie du Chien, which established borders between the tribes. The Second, Third, and Fourth Treaties of Prairie du Chien were signed during the next five years. In these latter treaties, the tribes ceded lands to the United States.

In the Fourth Treaty, the federal government promised to protect the Ho-Chunk from other tribes and whites settlers and traders, eventually relocate the tribe to better lands, and provide annual annuities in goods, services and cash. The government also promised to educate and "civilize" the tribe. Despite the treaty, few Ho-Chunk moved to the neutral ground in the 1830s. This changed when Fort Atkinson was established in 1840, which was federal government's attempt to relocate the whole tribe.

The Ho-Chunk experienced a number of challenges in the neutral territory. The government failed to fully provide the promised annuities, other tribes continued to be hostile, white settlers encroached on the territory, and the Ho-Chunk struggled with indebtedness to fur traders. Adding to the tension was that Iowa became state in 1846. Two years later, the Ho-Chunk signed to another treaty and agreed to move again to another reservation. They first went to Minnesota and then to South Dakota (a number of them relocated to a reservation in Nebraska by 1865).

A major reason this site was chosen for the the fort was its high elevation, which afforded views 10-15 miles away. The fort's 38 buildings and 11-foot stockade wall were completed by soldiers in 1842 (24 of the buildings were inside the fort itself). Various U.S. army contingents were stationed the fort over the next nine years. The occupation peaked at 196 soldiers in 1842. After the army abandoned the fort in February 1849, it was auctioned off. The cut limestone used for the buildings was particularly desirable. Only four buildings remained standing by the early 1900s.

The county convinced the Iowa Board of Conservation to buy the property in 1921. The board later established the preserve in 1968. Over the years, archaeologists have excavated the site and some of the buildings were rebuilt or repaired. Many building foundations, such as the stables, are still located underground. An annual living history event called the Fort Atkinson Rendezvous showcasing the life on the Iowa frontier in the 1840s started in 1977. It features reenactors dressed up in U.S. Army dragoon uniforms and buckskins, and Black powder shoots, crafts, contests and demonstrations.

Alex, Lynn M. "Fort Atkinson and the Winnebago Occupation of Iowa, 1840–1849." Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa. 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20100528131503/http://www.uiowa.edu/~osa/learn/historic/FtAtkinson9.pdf.

"Fort Atkinson State Preserve." Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Accessed March 25, 2022. https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/Iowa-State-Parks/Fort-Atkinson-State-Preserve.

Peterson, Cynthia L. & Stanley, David G. "Fort Atkinson State Preserve." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. February 27, 2013. https://winneshiekcounty.iowa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/96-00006-Fort-Atkinson-Historic-District-Fort-Atkinson-NR.pdf.

"Treaty of Prairie du Chien, 1825." Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed March 28, 2022. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/tp/id/55640.