National Park Service awards nearly $500,000 to the Fort Atkinson State Preserve

Posted: Tue, Nov 5, 2019 11:40 AM

1842 sketch of Fort Atkinson (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The National Park Service has awarded a $497,500 grant to the Fort Atkinson State Preserve through the agency's "Save America's Treasures" program.

The grant will be used to assess and repair four buildings at the historic fort during the next three years.

Fort Atkinson is now managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as a state preserve. The site includes several original buildings such as barracks and a gunpowder house, along with archeologically significant artifacts.

Said DNR Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau chief Todd Coffelt, "We look forward to working with local community members and those with a passion for Iowa history to make this project a success."

Originally built by the U.S. government from 1840 to 1842, federal troops occupied Fort Atkinson for military purposes until 1849. The fort featured prominently in the removal of Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) people from their ancestral lands.