Custer Lives!
Custer House At Fort Abraham Lincoln
In July 2008, while visiting Fort Abraham Lincoln in North Dakota, I visited the Custer House. The original Fort house General George Armstrong Custer and his beautiful wife Libbie lived in burnt down and was rebuilt. The rebuilt version was demolished with the rest of the Fort after it was shut down. The current Custer House is built from the original blueprints and with as similar materials as modern building codes will allow.
You must purchase a ticket for a guided tour of the house. As you approach, you come upon a US Army tent circa 1875. Infantrymen dressed in 1875 uniforms are stationed there to greet you and give you the ground rules of the tour. The guides will converse with you about current events until you reach a sign stating it's 1875. From that point forward everything is as it was in 1875 with General Custer away from Fort Abraham Lincoln serving his suspension. My tour guide was a rookie and told me so up front. He did a fine job and had a good grasp of the facts of the house and General Custer's career to that point in his life.
Many of the items inside the house are genuine items belonging to the Custer's and the guide will point them out. The guide gave me plenty of time to both photograph and video the interior. There was some repair work being performed on the outside of the house. Electric tools were being used so it was amusing to me to ask the guide what they were when we exited onto the front porch. The worker did not use them while we were inside which was quite courteous and made my tour much more enjoyable than having to listen to a rip saw drown out my guide.
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The view as you approach the Custer House. The Custer's paid out of pocket to have the bay window built on the side when the original house was rebuilt after burning. |
A view of the living room. This view reminds me of a famous photograph of the Custer Clan, with the Custer's at the piano. |
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Looking back into the living room from the dining room . |
This serving dish was a wedding gift to the Custer's. |
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These are the Custer's actual curtains in the living room. |
This wash basin and chest were in an upstairs guest room. They were owned by the Custer's. |
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These are not the General's actual firearms. They are a representation of the ones he owned while stationed here. |
My tour guide stands alongside General Custer's actual desk. A copy of the General's life insurance policy is on it. |
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Some of General Custer's books. The green on the end was presented to General Custer by actor Lawrence Barrett. |
Another one of General Custer's desks. |
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General Custer's closet in the master bedroom. The clothing are replicas. |
The webmaster standing at the front door. The electric repair tools and worker are on the right side of the photo. |
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