FORT MADISON — Fort Madison, in southeast Iowa's Lee County, is home to historic Old Fort Madison, the first U.S. military post on the Upper Mississippi River.
From 1808 to 1813, the fort was a trading post between the U.S. Army and Native Americans, said Eugene Watkins, site manager at Old Fort Madison.
'The facility was established under the treaty of St. Louis in 1804,' Watkins said. 'Article 9 of that said that the United States government would supply a government trading post and that's what Fort Madison was.
'Today, the site is considered the first American settlement in what would later become Iowa.'
Fort Madison was named after the ruins of the fort that still existed by the early 1830s, Watkins said.
When the fort was first established, the town was still part of Louisiana Territory. Between 1808 and 1811, the fort was the third-highest grossing trading post in the entire government system, Watkins said. Only Fort Osage in what is now Sibley, Mo., did better, he noted.
The fort trading primarily in beaver, otter and muskrat fur as well as lead.
'This is a very tense time in American history with the British,' Watkins said. 'Part of our mission here, this is a diplomatic mission, was to counter British influence up here.'
In March and April of 1812, there was a siege on the fort by the Winnebago, Watkins said. Two soldiers were killed.
'The serious siege that we re-enact every year was in September of 1812,' he said. 'That's an underrated, amazing part of American history. It's the largest coordinated Native offensive in American history.'
During the four-day siege, the Army burned down the trading post, Watkins said.
'They were afraid the Winnebago, who were doing the attacking, were waiting for the wind to pick up and blow the fire on to the fort,' he said. 'So the soldiers went out one evening when there was no wind and they burned it down themselves.
'That is probably the most significant part for the garrison because that ended their trading mission.'
The fort continued to operate until November 1813. It was the only remaining American fort as high as it was in the Mississippi, Watkins said.
In 1983, the city of Fort Madison received the first of two government grants administered by the Bureau of Historical Preservation, Iowa State Historical Society. The reconstruction project then began.
'Replicas of most major fort buildings have been fabricated from oak timbers by inmates at the Iowa State Penitentiary who volunteered to assist on the project,' according to a brochure at the fort.
The structures were rebuilt in Riverview Park in Fort Madison a few blocks away from the historic fort site, according to the brochure. However, the reconstructed site remains close to the Mississippi River, like the original fort.
Today, visitors to Old Fort Madison can walk around the reconstructed outpost. The main trading post was the factory, located outside the fort, where animal traps, blankets, iron tools and other manufactured goods were exchanged with Native Americans.
There is the central blockhouse which was stationed 24 hours a day. An underlying cellar was used to store goods exchanged with Native Americans at the factory, according to information available at the fort. There are also kitchens, officers' quarters, enlisted men's barracks, a blacksmith forge and a guardhouse.
Today, the town's population is 10,764, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 estimate.
Site Manager, Eugene Watkins of Old Fort Madison smokes a clay pipe while walking the perimeter of the fort in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing a role in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing a role in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
A reconstructed model of the original Fort Madison sites on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing the role of a trading post in the War of 1812. The rebuilt fort named, ‘Old Fort Madison', is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Site Manager, Eugene Watkins, holds a cat o' nine tails used to punish soldiers at Old Fort Madison, which is displayed for visitors to see in the orderly room or command post in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Personal items such as, candles, tooth brushes and mirrors used by soldiers and workers at Fort Madison between 1808 and 1813, sit on display at ‘Old Fort Madison', a rebuilt version of the original fort in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The site is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Eugene Watkins, Site Manager at Old Fort Madison, is reflected in a mirror hanging in what would be a bedroom for soldiers and their families from 1808 to 1813 when the original site was standing and in use, in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Old pots and pans hang from a wall in what is on display as the kitchen at ‘Old Fort Madison' in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing the role of a trading post in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
A soldier's uniform sits on display at ‘Old Fort Madison' in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing the role of a trading post in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September.(Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
On the edge of Fort Madison on the west bank of the Mississippi River ‘Old Fort Madison' stands as a replica of what was considered the first American settlement in Iowa, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing a role in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September.(Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Site Manager, Eugene Watkins, at ‘Old Fort Madison' loads his musket to demonstrate how soldiers living at the original fort between 1808 and 1813 would use the weapon in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
Site Manager, Eugene Watkins, at ‘Old Fort Madison' fires a musket to demonstrate how soldiers living at the original fort between 1808 and 1813 would use the weapon in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
The rebuilt Fort Madison, now named ‘Old Fort Madison', displays many rooms, from bedrooms to guard houses, similar to how they would have been used and set up from 1808 to 1813 when it was in use, in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The current site is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing a role in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt on the bank of the Mississippi River and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site in Fort Madison, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
On the west bank of the Mississippi River ‘Old Fort Madison' stands as a replica of what was considered the first American settlement in Iowa, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. The original Fort Madison was used from 1808 to 1813, playing a role in the War of 1812. It has since been rebuilt and continues to be updated and improved to resemble the original site. The current fort is open to visitors in June, July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and on the weekends in May and September. (Jessie Wardarski/The Gazette)
