From 1820 to 1827, the nation's largest and most westerly military post occupied this site, the earlier scene of Lewis and Clark's Council Bluff. In late 1819, troops under Colonel Henry Atkinson established Cantonment Missouri along the river near here. In 1820, a permanent post was built here on the bluffs and named Fort Atkinson. The post's population of over 1,000 included military personnel of the elite Rifle Regiment and Sixth Infantry, some of their families, and other civilians. The Sixth U.S. Infantry occupied Fort Atkinson when it was abandoned in 1827. The fortification consisted of a rectangular arrangement of one-story barracks fashioned of horizontal logs. The structures faced inward upon an enclosed parade ground with loopholes on the exterior walls. Four entrances were located near the center of the four walls. Cannons were mounted in the bastions at the northwest and southeast corners. A massively-built powder magazine occupied the center of the enclosed area. Outside the fortification were located a large council house for negotiating with the Indians, a gristmill, a schoolhouse, sawmill and other buildings. A brick kiln produced thousands of bricks. Fort Atkinson represents an important early step in opening the West.
]]>Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park is comprised of a portion of the original 1280-acre Military Reservation. The nine original permanent buildings on the Park grounds are constructed of grout, a mixture of gravel, lime, and cement similar to concrete. Some former temporary structures and other features such as the original Fort cemetery are on private property. Active between 1874-1881 during the height of Indian warfare on the Plains, the Fort provided protection for both settlers and friendly Indians. At the Fort, a social center for the surrounding area, settlers found employment and a market for their farm produce. Abandoned in 1881, the buildings were purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad, whose intention to establish an immigrant center here was never realized. In 1897 the site was purchased by local investors. It became a farm headquarters until donated to the State of Nebraska in 1961 by Glen and Lillian Auble of Ord. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is responsible for restoration and maintenance of the Park as a part of the state-wide Historical Parks system. The Park and surrounding district was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
]]>The North Loup Valley provided a route for the Sioux raids upon the Pawnee. In 1872 white settlers moved into the valley. Sioux depredations at Sioux Creek in October 1873 and at Pebble Creek in January of 1874 prompted the settlers to request military protection. The fort, originally designated as "Post on the North Fork of the Loup River," was established on September 5, 1874. On December 9, 1874, the post was renamed in honor of Major General George L. Hartsuff. Fort Hartsuff became the center of the social life of the valley, and through disbursement of supplies, helped to offset the effects of the drought and grasshopper invasions of the early 1870's. The fort's major military engagement came at the Battle of the Blow Out in April of 1876. The action resulted in the death of First Sergeant Dougherty when troops commanded by Lieutenant Heyl routed a band of hostile Sioux. By 1881 the railroad was extended into the valley, an orderly civilian government had been established and the threat of hostilities was ended. Fort Hartsuff was abandoned on May 1, 1881. Today it is a State Historical Park.
]]>In 1921 the Nebraska State Legislature created a State Park Board within the Department of Public Works. In 1923, the law was amended by attaching the Board to the Department of Horticulture of the University of Nebraska. The Legislature of 1929 replaced the State Park Board and the Bureau of Game and Fish with a new agency, the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. In 1967, it was designated by the Legislature as the State Game and Parks Commission.
Chadron State Park was established by a legislative act approved April 25, 1921 and introduced by Senator James Good and Representative George Snow, both of Chadron. This act set aside a section of school land as the first Nebraska State Park. Fifty years later, in 1971, the Parks System had expanded to 93 areas. The Chadron area was once the scene of bitter warfare between the fierce migratory plains Indians and the whites. Later the region was the center of disputes between ranchers and homesteaders who competed for the land from which the Indians had been dispossessed. Today, Chadron, along with other State Parks, provides excellent scenic and recreational areas for the visitor.
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