11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Fort Snelling Upper Post
Year Listed: 2006
Location: Minnesota
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Deterioration
Fort Snelling Building 101, 102, 103 - Infantry Enlisted Barracks. Fort Snelling Upper Post in Hennepin County, Minnesota was on the 2006 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
Credit: Chris Morris
Significance
Fort Snelling was established in 1820 to protect fur traders and early settlers. Beginning in the late 1800s, dozens of new buildings were constructed on the Upper Bluff for training, supplies and administration. Today, Fort Snelling is a National Historic Landmark, and the Fort Snelling Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. While the original 1820s fortification is owned by the Minnesota Historical Society and is open to the public for tours, the Upper Post has had little attention for the past 25 years. The military gradually abandoned all of the buildings in the Upper Post area after World War II, disposing of parts of the site to various federal and state agencies, and now there is no clear authority responsible for overall infrastructure or stewardship. While several of the buildings were shuttered at the time they were vacated, many have suffered from deferred maintenance and vandalism over the years. When listed, the historic buildings were deteriorating at an increasingly rapid rate as a result of broken windows, damaged gutters and downspouts, and deteriorated roofs -- some of which were on the verge of collapse. The historic buildings that make up Fort Snelling's Upper Post complex occupy a unique and important place in Minnesota history.
Updates
Hennepin County secured a Save America's Treasures grant for $300,000 in 2007 and $500,000 in state capital bonding money to stabilize critical properties at the post, and with some of its own funds currently implementing improvements under the guidance of a qualified historical architect. The county is employing its Sentence-to-Serve program to make the money stretch as far as possible while training convicted offenders in the construction trades. The County also was awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to fund a study of the historic cultural landscape and historic context for the 28 historic buildings on site. That study, which identified areas where new development was appropriate and suggested guidelines for new construction was completed in 2008.
In 2008 the National Trust convened an interagency stakeholders and landholders group which has been meeting monthly to develop a strategy to consolidate land titles and development rights from the myriad of federal, state and local agencies involved and to develop a master plan for redevelopment of the area. Chaired by Peter McLaughlin, Hennepin County Commissioner, the stakeholders explored models for redevelopment and governance at other similar abandoned military installations and will soon seek a federally commissioned Reserve and a non-profit Historic Trust to oversee revitalization of the site. Concurrently, dialog is underway with Native American tribal communities with cultural ties to the site. The planning process is moving slowly but steadily toward a call for proposals for reuse of the historic buildings and appropriate infill development while the stabilization work provides time to work that out.
Submitted by MN Historian at: May 19, 2010
While Waziyatawin makes several good points there are some other facts that should also be considered. First the listing for this property is incorrect when it states that the fort was built to protect settlers. In the 1820's the fort's mission was to protect and promote American Fur Trade interests. This meant keeping settlers out and in esssence protecting the Natives. This changed in later years as the fur declined. The Dakota were previously living in what is northern Minnesota. They were pushed south by the Anishinabe/Ojibwe and the Dakota altered their oral histories accordingly. The Dakota were the people living in the area when the fort was founded, but were not the orginal people of the land. Waziyatanwin is correct that this history is important and should be told. The MN Historical Society should explore more opportunties to tell even the horrible aspects of history. There is an interpretive panel in Fort Snelling State Park. The internment camp was not inside the walls but below in the river valley. This land is now part of the state park. Perhaps the state park should be torn down instead. I very much agree that in this economy the state should be very selective in how and where state funding is invested. This endangered listing applies to the upper post which was built many decades later. The land that was Fort Snelling of the early to mid 1900's is now broken up and owned by a variety of interests. The Historic Fort has been operated as an historic site since the early 1970's. People should look into important issues, read about all sides and make informed decisions.
Submitted by Waziyatawin at: February 28, 2010
TAKE DOWN THE FORT It is time for Minnesota to shed its colonialist history and take down Historic Fort Snelling, Minnesota’s first monumental icon of American imperialism. • The fort that stands there today is a replica of Fort Snelling restored to its 1820s condition. The replica is crumbling and the Minnesota Historical Society wanted Minnesota tax-payers to foot the $24.8 million bill in 2008 to refortify this symbol of oppression. They have since revised the amount to $6.8 million in 2010, still millions more than tax payers should spend given the current cuts to social programs in the state. • Minnesotans currently have an opportunity to re-invest themselves in this colonial symbol, or reject that symbol in the 21st century and work with us to eradicate the fort. • Dakota people, as the Original Peoples of these lands, possess a deep claim to the site not shared by any other population of people. • This area the Dakota refer to as Bdote (Mendota in English) is the site of both Dakota genesis and genocide. The Bdewakantunwan Dakota creation story places Dakota origin at this specific site. Yet, Fort Snelling is also the site where White Minnesotans imprisoned about 1,600 Dakota people (primarily women and children) during the winter of 1862-63, consequently killing about 300 of our ancestors. In November 1865, white soldiers also hanged Dakota leaders Sakpe and Medicine Bottle. • Given this deep history, it is appropriate for the Minnesota Historical Society to eradicate the fort and return this sacred site to Dakota control.
Submitted by Arizore at: June 1, 2009
This place might make a good bed & Breakfast if the price is right. At least it would put the property on the tax rolls. Private owners tend to find the highest and best use for land.