Fort Buford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fort Buford State Historic Site
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Fort Buford's 1872 Commanding Officer's Quarters
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 Location in North Dakota
Location in the United States
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| Location | Williams County, North Dakota, SW of Williston near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers |
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| Nearest city | Williston, North Dakota |
| Built | 1866 |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001308 |
| Added to NRHP | April 1, 1975 |
Fort Buford was an important United States Army Post. It was built where the Missouri River and Yellowstone River meet in what is now North Dakota. This historic site is famous as the place where the famous Lakota leader, Sitting Bull, surrendered in 1881.
The fort was first set up on June 15, 1866. A group of 3 officers, 80 soldiers, and 6 civilians started building it. They used adobe (a type of sun-dried mud brick) and cottonwood trees. The fort was protected by a wooden stockade, which is a fence made of strong posts. It was named after Major General John Buford, a cavalry general from the Union Army during the American Civil War.
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Early Challenges at Fort Buford
Right after the soldiers arrived, they faced attacks from the Hunkpapa Lakota. This group was led by Sitting Bull. On the second night, they attacked the camp, but the soldiers fought them off. The next day, the Lakota tried to take the company's cattle, but they were stopped again.
Soldiers who went out to cut logs for building were often attacked. These fights could last for hours, with losses on both sides.
A Difficult Winter
The first winter at Fort Buford was very hard. In December, three civilian woodcutters were killed near the Yellowstone River. A group of sixty soldiers went out to help. They drove off the Lakota and brought back the bodies.
The Lakota surrounded the fort during the winter. This made it hard for the soldiers to get to the nearby Missouri River for fresh water. They had to dig shallow wells near their living areas. The water from these wells became dirty from the fort's animals and waste. This caused many soldiers to get sick with dysentery.
From December 21 to 24, a large group of Hunkpapa Lakota repeatedly attacked the fort's ice house and sawmill. These buildings were near the river. The attackers fired at the fort. The soldiers finally pushed them back by using their two large cannons. Even the captain's wife stayed at the fort through this tough winter.
The Lakota continued to bother Fort Buford until the early 1870s. But the worst period was during that first year, from June 1866 to May 1867. In May, the Missouri River thawed. This allowed the steamboat Graham to bring more soldiers to the fort. More boats arrived in June, bringing even more troops. This extra help allowed the soldiers to defend the fort better and build stronger, more permanent buildings.
Building and Expanding the Fort
With more soldiers arriving, Fort Buford grew bigger. In 1867–1868, the fort expanded from a small 360-foot square area to a much larger 540 by 1,080 feet. It had three walls on the west, north, and east sides. The south side was protected by long adobe barracks buildings and the Missouri River, which acted like a natural barrier.
Around this time, the Army bought an old fur trading post called Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. It was only two miles away. Parts of Fort Union were taken apart, and its wood was used to build Fort Buford. This wood was much older and better quality than the new wood found nearby.
The fort was expanded again in 1871–1872. More soldiers arrived, and the fort grew to cover about a square mile. It included homes for laundresses and other civilians. By this time, the main fighting had moved further west. The fort was large enough that it no longer needed a perimeter stockade.
The original Commanding Officer's Quarters, which you can still see today, was built during this expansion in 1871–1872. It was where Colonel William B. Hazen lived. A stone gunpowder magazine was built in 1875. It held over a million rounds of ammunition for the soldiers.
Fort Buford became a very important supply point for military campaigns in 1876–1877. After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the fort was at its busiest. There were nearly 100 buildings and about 1,000 people living there at any time.
Over the years, the fort continued to improve. In 1873–1874, the old adobe barracks were fixed up. Wood was added to the outside to protect them from the weather. The inside was plastered, and the old sod roofs were replaced with lighter roofs. New kitchens and dining halls were added to each barracks building.
However, by 1880, many of the adobe buildings were falling apart. Some had already collapsed, forcing soldiers to sleep in tents. By 1881, the adobe buildings were torn down. New wooden buildings were put up in their place. In 1883, the Commanding Officer's Quarters was made larger by adding two new rooms.
The last major expansion happened in 1889. A much bigger Commanding Officer's Quarters was built. The old one became the Field Officer's Quarters. A water tower was built, and people tried to install water mains to the buildings. But this failed because the pipes froze every winter.
Because the fort was so far away and built with some poor materials, it often needed repairs. Many of the original adobe and cottonwood buildings were always falling apart.
A Hidatsa Village Near the Fort
Around 1870, some unexpected new people arrived near Fort Buford. These were Hidatsa and Mandan Native Americans. They came from a village called Like-a-Fishhook Village, which was about 100 miles downstream.
Between 150 and 200 people, led by Bobtail Bull and Crow Flies High, started a new village. They built log cabins about two miles northwest of the fort. These Native Americans had left their old village because of disagreements with their chiefs. They also wanted to avoid the new reservation system.
The Hidatsa people had never fought against the U.S. Army. In fact, they were enemies of the Sioux. So, the soldiers at Fort Buford welcomed them. The Hidatsa leaders felt their small village would be safer from Sioux attacks if it was close to a military fort.
The fort's leaders saw how helpful their new neighbors could be. They hired some Hidatsa as scouts, paying them regularly. These scouts and soldiers sometimes traveled to places like Bismarck, North Dakota. In times of peace, the Hidatsa carried military mail to other forts. The Hidatsa village near Fort Buford lasted until 1884.
Fort Buford Today
Fort Buford was no longer needed as the region became more settled. Also, the fort was in poor condition. So, the Army closed it down on October 1, 1895. In 1896, all the remaining buildings were sold. Most were moved away or torn down.
Only three buildings were left:
- The 1872 Commanding Officer's Quarters (where Sitting Bull surrendered).
- The 1875 stone Powder Magazine.
- A Duplex Officer's Quarters.
The Duplex building was used as a home, and the smaller Commanding Officer's Quarters became a guest house and later a grain storage building. The land was called "Villa Militare" by the Mercer family who owned it. In 1927, the land was given to the State of North Dakota. The Duplex building burned down in 1937, destroying many old items.
In the 1990s, another old building, the Officer of the Guard building, was found. It was being used as a pump house for a nearby irrigation canal. It was moved back to its original spot at the fort.
In 2004, a new adobe barracks building was built. It stands where an original barracks was located from 1867 to 1881. This new building shows what the original barracks might have looked like.
Today, the State Historical Society of North Dakota manages Fort Buford. It is known as the Fort Buford State Historic Site. Of the original one-square-mile fort, only 40 acres are now owned by the state.
Images for kids
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A sign marking Fort Buford in North Dakota, 2003.
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A grave marker in the Fort Buford cemetery for an Indian Scout who died in 1870.
