Custer Lives!
Fort Phil Kearny
In August 2008 I visited Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. The fort site is in Fort Phil Kearny State Park. Fort Phil Kearney is a Registered National Historic Landmark. After stopping in at the office, which also serves as a gift shop and museum, I began walking the grounds where Fort Phil Kearny once stood. The Fort must have been quite large because it took me a long time to walk the perimeter and all the sites inside. The Fort walls no longer exist, however portions of it and blockhouses have been recreated.
There is a recreated frontier home inside. You can step into it but all the exhibits are behind plexiglass which made it difficult to get reflection free photos on such a bright sunny day. There are no buildings left inside the Fort but the areas where they stood are marked off and posted. There are numerous information plaques and signs posted all through the Fort. They were easy to read and informative.
The museum is small but does have several informative exhibits and quite a few artifacts from Fort Phil Kearny. The staffer inside was quite pleasant and I enjoyed chatting with her. A small gift shop was there and I bought a few items.
The grounds, buildings, and exhibits were all well maintained. It was a hot summer day and quite a bit of dust was flying about. As it takes a few hours to walk all the grounds and visit the museum so be sure and wear comfortable shoes, clothing, and take some water.
|
The entrance to the state park. |
The entrance to the fort. |
|
A reproduction of the fort wall interior. |
Inside one of the blockhouses on the fort's corners. |
|
A map of the Fort. The flagpole was in the small corral behind the map. |
A reproduction frontier home. |
|
The fort cemetery was where the 'X' is. The tall peak on the photo's right side was constantly manned as a lookout post. |
The Cavalry barracks stood where the red and white sign is posted. |
|
The high point in the center of the photo is Sullivant Ridge. Wood to build and supply the fort was taken from the woods four miles west. Just out the right side side of the photo was the route Captain Fetterman took to meet his fate. |
The 1963 plaque designating Fort Phil Kearney as a Registered National Historic Landmark. |
|
State of Wyoming monument to Fort Phil Kearney. |
A monument dedicated to the heroic men and women of both sides in the Plains Indian Wars. |
|
Closeup of the monument dedicated to the heroic men and women of both sides in the Plains Indian Wars. |
An Indian headdress inside the Fort's museum. |
|
This museum display explains what the notches in the feathers mean. |
Weapons used by the Indians during fighting around Fort Phil Kearny. |
|
Weapons used by the US Army during fighting around Fort Phil Kearny. |
A wagon wheel recovered during excavation at Fort Phil Kearny. |
|
|
|
