{"id":31569,"date":"2025-12-07T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=31569"},"modified":"2025-11-21T15:36:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T23:36:55","slug":"fort-snelling-state-park-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/fort-snelling-state-park-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>By Joe Berk<\/h6>\n<p>Minnesota\u2019s Fort Snelling State Park is a subject more worthy of a multi-volume book than a single blog post.\u00a0 \u00a0The challenge in a blog piece is to hit the high points, so bear with me as I attempt to do so.\u00a0 Sue and I recently visited the Minneapolis\/St. Paul area, and Sue found several interesting spots to visit. One of them was Fort Snelling.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31571\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31571\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31571 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1968-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1968-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1968-600-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31571\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tower, also known as the Magazine, dominates Fort Snelling. It was used to store gunpowder. It also served as a prison.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31577\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31577\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31577 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1987-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1987-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1987-600-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31577\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More information on the Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31578\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31578\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31578 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1990-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1990-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1990-600-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31578\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside the magazine. You can take the stairs to the top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31572\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31572\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31572 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1972-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1972-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1972-600-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31572\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Fort Snelling&#8217;s barracks and shop area. The house in the center was the commanding officer&#8217;s quarters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fort Snelling is located where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers meet. Here\u2019s a bit of its background and just a few of the significant things that happened there:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Fort Snelling was founded in 1820<\/li>\n<li>The Mdewakanton Dakota Native American people believe that this area is the center of the Earth.<\/li>\n<li>In 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike met with the Mdewakanton Dakota and signed a questionable treaty to purchase the area for the United States. Most historians believe that neither Pike (of Pike\u2019s Peak fame) nor the Native American representatives were authorized to strike such a deal. Pike paid about $200,000 for the area, which consisted of about 155,320 acres, but left the amount blank in the treaty he brought back to Washington. The US Congress changed the amount to $2,000, but didn\u2019t pay the Dakota people in cash. The Government instead provided goods it felt were worth about $2,000.<\/li>\n<li>Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth built the initial outpost in 1819.<\/li>\n<li>Colonel Josiah Snelling assumed command in 1820 and finished construction; he died in 1827 after being recalled to Washington.<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota\u2019s first post office opened at Fort Snelling in 1827, the same year that Colonel Zachary Taylor assumed command.<\/li>\n<li>Slavery existed at Fort Snelling up until 1857.<\/li>\n<li>Dred Scott (of the Dredd Scott Decision fame) and Harriet Robinson Scott were among slave population at Fort Snelling.<\/li>\n<li>Fort Snelling acted as a concentration camp for the Dakota people before they were sent to Nebraska.<\/li>\n<li>The fort was a primary recruiting station during the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II.<\/li>\n<li>In 1848, portions of the military reservation were set aside and would become St. Paul.<\/li>\n<li>In 1856 Major Edward Canby became the fort. Canby would go on to become a general, and would hold the dubious distinction the only general killed in the Indian wars. Canby, a Minnesota town, bears his name.<\/li>\n<li>The fort was the primary military base during the Dakota War of 1862.<\/li>\n<li>In 1916, when General John J. Pershing was chasing Pancho Villa in Mexico, Minnesota\u2019s National Guard was activated at Fort Snelling to provide border security.<\/li>\n<li>In 1944, the Army\u2019s Military Intelligence branch operated at Japanese language school at Fort Snelling, which was relocated to its current location in Monterey, California when Fort Snelling was decommissioned in 1946.<\/li>\n<li>Restoration of the old Fort Snelling began in 1957.<\/li>\n<li>Fort Snelling became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.<\/li>\n<li>Fort Snelling\u00a0 State Park opened in 1962.\u00a0 It is Minnesota\u2019s most visited state park.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are a few additional photos we grabbed as we wandered through the Fort Snelling grounds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31573\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31573\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31573 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1979-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1979-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1979-600-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31573\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Post&#8217;s general store (a sutler is a storekeeper who sold food, clothing, personal items, etc., to soldiers at a military camp or post; today it would be called the Post Exchange).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31574\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31574\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31574 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1980-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"864\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1980-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1980-600-208x300.jpg 208w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Information about early barracks living.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31575\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31575\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31575 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1981-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"1148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1981-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1981-600-157x300.jpg 157w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1981-600-535x1024.jpg 535w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside an early barracks room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31576\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31576\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31576 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1982600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1982600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1982600-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31576\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Commandant&#8217;s quarters. You can go inside, too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31579\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31579\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31579 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1998-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1998-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1998-600-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Early Army gear on display in the Fort Snelling State Park Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s an interesting Museum that houses a number of exhibits as you enter Fort Snelling State Park.\u00a0 Our visit was a good one.\u00a0 We opted for the guided tour and it was money well spent.\u00a0 Our tour guide was enthusiastic and made the tour interesting.\u00a0 If you ever pass through the Minneapolis\/St. Paul area, Fort Snelling should be on your list of places to visit.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Join our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/528366535451405\">Facebook ExNotes page<\/a>!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Never miss an ExNotes blog:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Help us keep the lights on:<\/span><\/h3>\n<style>\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-select,\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-input {\r\n            width: 171px;\r\n            min-width: 171px;\r\n            max-width: 171px;\r\n        }\r\n    <\/style><div class='wpedon-container wpedon-align-center'><form target='_blank' action='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr' method='post' class='wpedon-form'><input type='hidden' name='cmd' value='_donations' \/><input type='hidden' name='business' value='ExNotes@ExhaustNotes.us' \/><input type='hidden' name='currency_code' value='USD' \/><input type='hidden' name='notify_url' value='https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-post.php?action=add_wpedon_button_ipn'><input type='hidden' name='lc' value='en_US'><input type='hidden' name='bn' value='WPPlugin_SP'><input type='hidden' name='return' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='cancel_return' value='' \/><input class='wpedon_paypalbuttonimage' type='image' src='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif' border='0' name='submit' alt='Make your payments with PayPal. 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