Historic Fort Snelling Revitalization Project

Project

The Minnesota Historical Society has launched a project to improve programs for the public at Historic Fort Snelling.

Classrooms will be added within the frontier fort and a new visitor center will replace the existing underground facility that has been irredeemably damaged by groundwater infiltration.

Visitors now experience life at a frontier military post in the 1820s. With this revitalization, they will be able to learn also about the life of native peoples in the area prior to European contact, the first treaties and American settlement following the Louisiana Purchase, the role that Dred and Harriet Scott's presence in Minnesota played in precipitating the Civil War and the state’s subsequent participation in that struggle, the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862 and its aftermath, the role of the fort as a revived military base from the 1870s through World War II and the many other stories that make the fort a place of national significance.

Section 106

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires external review of the construction aspects of this project—modifications to the old fort, the building of a new visitor center and the stabilization of four adjacent historic military buildings— to ensure that they conform to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Because Historic Fort Snelling is a National Historic Landmark, this evaluation is being conducted by the National Park Service through the staff of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Open House

The National Park Service is holding an open house at the Historic Fort Snelling Visitor Center on September 11, 2007 from 4 to 7:30 p.m., to present the construction aspects of this project and solicit public comment on its relationship to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. It is open to all interested parties.

Staff from the Minnesota Historical Society, the National Park Service, and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office will be available along with the project's architects and landscape architects to answer questions.

Comments may be submitted in writing to the National Park Service during the open house or at any time through September 26, 2007 at http://www.nps.gov/miss/contacts.htm

Documents

The Minnesota Historical Society's description of the project is available online along with the associated drawings and photographs.

Photographs


Comments

If you have any questions of the Minnesota Historical Society, contact:
Michael Fox, Deputy Director for Programs
michael.fox@mnhs.org
651-259-3110