Village constructions: U.S. Army forts on the plains, 1848-1890

The United States Army constructed hundreds of forts in the American West in the second half of the nineteenth century. Rather than being walled, heavily fortified structures, these forts tended to be open collections of buildings, with barracks, quarters, and other primary buildings facing an open parade ground and secondary buildings laid out in informal patterns on the periphery. Travelers and visitors often likened these forts to villages, recalling New England precedents. Through the landscape it created, the army brought the culture of the Anglo-American East to the frontier, extending its mission beyond military efforts into a cultural sphere. © 1999 by The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc. All rights reserved