Then we
heard about Ft. Totten. It was not mentioned in the book, but it is
reported to be one of best-preserved frontier forts of the western
USA. It's only about 120 miles to the east. Heck, what is 120 miles
when we already traveled over 1600 miles from home to Minot?
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| Geographic Center of North America, Rugby, ND |
So, the
4th of July found us on the road heading east to the Fort
Totten State Historic Site. About halfway there driving through some
very flat but very green farmland, I began to wonder why we just
didn't stay back at the trailer and relax. It had been three long,
hot work days and I was tee-totally worn out. But then we drove
through Rugby, ND and saw the monument for the geographical center of
North America. In Rugby, ND? Interesting. So we kept driving.
Glad we
did. The fort is located very close to a beautiful lake and sits on
the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. You drive around the lake and
then through some marginal housing until you see the backside of the
fort. When I walked through the entrance gate, I was immediately
reminded of all the years of walking onto the campuses of VMI and The
Citadel – parade ground in the center with trees on the perimeter
and all the buildings lined up perfectly around the parade ground.
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| Ft Totten - parade ground on the left with buildings surrounding on all sides |
The
original log fort, constructed in 1867, was located about 800 yards
from the present location. Contractors then used local raw materials
to make the brick and mortar and used locally saw lumber to build the
more permanent structures. It was finally finished in 1871.
For the
most part, the fort was used by both infantry and cavalry units in
police functions. They patrolled the northern border, attempted to
control the liquor traffic (were bootleggers running booze from
Canada in 1870s?), and protected residents of the reservation and
nearby settlers. The less than glamorous existence for the soldiers
stationed there included routine patrols, daily drills, and
housekeeping, and the boredom led to high rates of alcoholism and
desertions.
The fort was decommissioned in 1890 and was turned over to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs who opened a boarding school for children from the
reservation. This school was not the first school in this area for
Indian children. The Grey Nuns of Montreal began a school in 1874
for the Wahpeton, Sisseton, and Cuthead bands of Sioux. For the new
school, many of the fort's buildings were substantially changed and
for the next 45 years, the Indian Industrial School provided
coursework centered on domestic skills for girls and on farming and
industrial skills for boys. At that time, the idea was to
“de-Indian” the children and then assimilate them into the
predominate white society by taking them away from their parents and
tribes and all influences and support their tribes had provided to
them. Both Bill and I found it interesting that one of the aspects
of Indian culture that the feds wanted to change was the Indian's
lack of the concept of “ownership”. Bill's comment was that the
feds couldn't leave well enough alone but had to convert the Indians
to the idea of owning things, thereby introducing greed for material
items into the native culture. Another aspect of native life the
educators discouraged was the children running, sliding down hills,
and other outdoor activities. It was viewed as not contributing to
their education. But it was further mentioned that the educators
failed to realize that these activities had been part of an Indian
child's education for centuries long before the Europeans arrived in
this land and it prepared the children for the roles they were to
have in their tribes.
In 1935,
a change in fed policy toward Indian schools brought about the
closure of the school. From 1935 – 1939, the fort was used as a
“Tuberculosis Preventorium”. We both wondered what the heck this
was. Neither of us had ever heard of this but quickly learned that
when tuberculosis ran rampant through the reservations, the center
was established to isolate people considered at high risk for
contracting the disease from the rest of the community and then
encouraged them to get outdoor exercise in the sunshine. I thought
how ironic – just a few short years before this, the feds had
discouraged the free outdoor activities the children had learned from
their parents.
Finally,
the fort was used as the Fort Totten Community School from 1940 to
1959 which provided elementary and high school education for the
community. A new school was built in 1959 and in 1960, the fort was
transferred to the State Historical Society for use as a historical
site.
Right now, it consists of over 9 acres and contains 16 of the original 39 buildings. The buildings themselves are in great shape and some have been renovated to show both fort life and school life. It looked like a pretty spartan existence. And very cold in the winter. The brick walls were pretty substantial but lacked any insulation. One soldier wrote about a winter that was so brutal, soldiers got frostbite in just crossing the parade ground. Now that's cold! And during renovations, old children's uniforms were found behind wooden walls, probably used in a vain attempt to block the cold.
We
wandered in and out of most of the open buildings and decided we were
glad not to have lived in any of the buildings, during both summer or
winter! In one of the officer's quarters, the old floor was gone and
you could see down to the foundation. In the very back of the narrow
quarters, there were big holes in the ground, lined with brick.
These were the cisterns that stored all the water that was used in
the household – drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. All this water
got mixed together and caused a lot of sickness. Eventually, they
figured out to keep the water uses separate. Another reason we are
happy to live now and not then.
Oops –
guess I got carried away with this post. It won't hurt my feelings
if you didn't read the whole thing, but I hope you enjoyed the
pictures.
Driving north from the fort along the lake
Some of the farm fields we see all the time.
More
later . . .
Love the pictures!
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