Fort Ripley

The establishment of Fort Ripley in 1848 represents the U.S. government’s effort to establish control on the northern frontier. Construction began on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from this point a year before Minnesota became a territory. The government intended it to be a buffer between lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe and to protect the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) who had been unwillingly moved from their land in Wisconsin Territory as part of the buffer.

Originally known as Fort Marcy and later Fort Gaines, the name was changed to Fort Ripley in 1850. Its presence encouraged further settlement of Euro-American immigrants. With demands to open more land for settlement, the fort was briefly closed, but concerns about conflict between the new immigrants and the Ojibwe caused it to be reoccupied.

During the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 settlers took shelter in the fort’s frame buildings fearing mistakenly that the Ojibwe would join the war. A fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1877, and Fort Ripley was abandoned in 1880. The masonry ruins of a powder magazine are the only visible remains although a rich archaeological site still exists. The site is now within Camp Ripley Military Reservation operated by the Minnesota National Guard.