The Story of Fort Atkinson
Fort Atkinson had its genesis with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s. After stopping in the area, Clark noted in his journal that the site provided a very suitable location for a fort.
More than a decade later, Fort Atkinson was established. It was a large garrison: at its peak, it held nearly one quarter of the standing U.S. army, approximately 1,200 soldiers. The fort protected the growing western fur trade, and as the only governmental authority in the vast territory west of the Missouri, it also enforced peaceful relations between traders and the indigenous tribes of the region. It operated from 1820 to 1827.
Tour at Fort Atkinson and Nebraska Standards Addressed
At Fort Atkinson, our staff can offer your classroom a guided tour of Fort Atkinson State Historical Park that includes a 20-minute video, tour of the visitor center/museum and a hike out to the Lewis and Clark Monument and the reconstructed fort. Tours typically last 1.5 hours. There are two picnic areas and additional hiking if you wish to extend your visit. A Nebraska Game and Park sticker is required on all vehicles as well as a fee for the visitor center. Both can be purchased at the visitor center.
The staff uses the Nebraska Department of Education Social Studies 4th Grade standards as a guide.
SS 4.2 Students will recognize prices are what consumers pay when they buy a good or service
- Troops bartered, paid with foreign currency. Discuss the time it took to get supplies to the fort and the cost
- Stress the importance of the fur-trade to the United States economy
SS 4.3 Students will explore where (spatial) and why people, places and environments are organized in the state.
- Discuss how the river has changed through the years and how it affected Fort Atkinson
- Lewis and Clark’s recommendation of the “Council Bluff” for the site of a fortification
SS 4.3.4 Students will compare and contrast the characteristics of culture
- The military benefited from the knowledge of the Omaha tribe
- Discuss language barriers
SS 4.3.5 Students will identify how humans have adapted to and modified different environments in Nebraska
- Flood and tornado at the fort
- Stephen Long calling this the "Great American Desert"
- Using Cottonwood to build the fort
- Farming vital to the soldier’s survival
SS 4.3.5e Describe human adaptations to the physical environment
- How the soldiers survived the heat and the cold
- Burning Black Locust wood
SS 4.3.6 Students will use geographic skills to make connections to issues and events.
- The military purchased the rights of the land from the Omaha tribe
- Discuss the measurement of land from the flagpole
SS 4.4.2 Students will describe and explain the relationships among people, events, ideas and symbols over time using multiple types of sources.
- Discuss the major tribes in the area
- Discuss the fur traders that came through the fort: Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger
- Discuss the prominent military personal at the fort: Gen. Henry Atkinson, Col. Leavenworth, Stephen Kearney, Stephen H. Long
Please call the Fort Atkinson Visitor Center to arrange your tour today at 402-468-5611!