Historic Fort Snelling

We spent several hours at Historic Fort Snelling while visiting as part of our 6th Grade Minnesota History Pass. Our self guided walk around the fort offered several glimpses into what life was like for both soldiers and civilians. We are spending our summer exploring several historic sites in Minnesota including; Mill City Museum, the Minnesota History Center and Jeffers Petroglyphs to name a few. Historic Fort Snelling sits above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, making it a strategic location for both trade and commerce in the 1800s. It’s believed native people first entered the area over 10,000 years ago. The site is regarded as a spiritual and cultural place of origin for the Dakota. Early European settlers saw it as a prime location for a military fort.

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While spending time at the fort, we opted to forgo the formal tour and instead wondered from building to building asking questions of the re-enactors and exploring. Our first stop was the Wheelwright’s and Carpenter’s Shop. We wandered through the shops but found ourselves very interested in the blacksmith demonstration. On this day, the blacksmith was making nails. We were able to see the process for start to finish and touch a newly created nail just after coming out of the forge.

Work at Historic Fort Snelling

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As we continued exploring the fort, we found stark contrast in the living quarters of the enlisted soldiers compared to the chief officers at the fort. Officers enjoyed spacious living spaces with rooms for private lounging as well as public spaces for entertaining. Enlisted soldiers we allotted minimal space. The three sets of bunkbeds below were the sleeping spaces for twelve men.

Life at Historic Fort Snelling

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Children at Historic Fort Snelling

Fort staff paint vivid pictures of the life of the soldier’s as well as children who were living at Historic Fort Snelling. At any given time there were approximately 20-30 kids living at the fort. They attended school in the mornings and then spent the afternoons helping their parents with fort related work and chores. We sat in on the spelling lesson at the fort’s one room school house.

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To round out our visit to Historic Fort Snelling we explored the mercantile, learned how laundry was done at the fort and spent time visiting the infirmary. All of us were thankful for modern hospitals after visiting that exhibit.

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Our stop at Historic Fort Snelling was just one of the fun and educational visits we’ll make this summer while utilizing the 6th Grade Minnesota History Pass. We have hopes of seeing the Minnesota State Capitol, the James J. Hill House, Lower Sioux Agency, Oliver Kelly Farm and the Snake River Fur Post.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle