Fort Wallace

Fort Wallace (ca. 1865–1882) was a US Cavalry fort built in Wallace County, Kansas to help defend settlers against Cheyenne and Sioux raids. All that remains today is the cemetery, but for a period of over a decade Fort Wallace was one of the most important military outposts on the frontier.

Fort Wallace
near Wallace, Kansas
Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace
Coordinates38°54′18″N 101°33′34″W
TypeMilitary base
Site information
Controlled byUnited States
ConditionDismantled
Site history
Built1865
Built byU.S. Army
In use1865-1882
Demolished1886
Garrison information
Garrison2nd Cavalry Regiment
5th Infantry Regiment
6th Infantry Regiment
7th Cavalry Regiment
9th Cavalry Regiment
OccupantsGeorge Custer
George Forsyth

Fort Wallace Museum
Officers at Fort Wallace in 1867, including Theophilus H. Turner, who discovered Elasmosaurus in the area the same year, second from the left

Today, Fort Wallace is represented by a privately operated museum nearby in the town of Wallace, with relics from the fort as well as photos, reproduction items, and literature covering the post's history and the settlement of the Great Plains. A casting of the plesiosaur discovered by Dr. Turner and Scout William Comstock is also on display. Facades of some of the buildings from Fort Wallace and from the Old Town of Wallace are featured in the Milford Becker Addition opened in 2017.

Location

The old Fort Wallace cemetery still exists, and is located next to the Wallace Township Cemetery at 38°54′23″N 101°33′36″W.[1]

References
  1. "Fort Wallace, Kansas Cemetery". Santa Fe Trail Research. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
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