Schoolhouse

History

Opposite the Sutler Store is the Schoolhouse, built in the same size and general appearance. School teachers John Marsh and later the Reverend Clement Jones, were hired in the 1820s and provided instruction to children and perhaps even enlisted men. Over the years, this building also served as a billiard room, a sutler’s storeroom and as a chapel. The first Protestant congregation and the first school on the upper Mississippi met here in the 1820s.

By the Civil War, a frame addition had been added to the south wall of the Schoolhouse, doubling its size. The original structure was demolished by 1878.

Reconstruction

Historic Fort Snelling’s reconstruction has two doors, the second added for visitor flow when the new building first served as a display room.

Today

Visitors receive a brief orientation in the Schoolhouse before touring the site. And each fall, exciting school programs bring the past to life for school groups.