Fort Des Moines (1)

Fort Des Moines (1) (1834-1837) - A U.S. Army post established as Camp Des Moines in 1834 by Lt. Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny, 1st U.S. Dragoons, in Lee County, Iowa. The fort was located along the west bank of the Mississippi River at present-day Montrose. Renamed Fort Des Moines in 1835. Abandoned in 1837. Fort Des Moines 1 Reader Board. Fort Des Moines 1 Marker Stone. Fort Des Moines 1 Markers on Barracks Well Site. History Established 19 May 1834 as Camp Des Moines by Lt. Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny, 1st U.S. Dragoons to control and protect the Sac and Fox Indians. Abandoned 1 Jun 1837 and the buildings were sold to private owners. The fort site became the town of Montrose. Current Status Access to the only visible structure of the original fort is at Riverview Park at the end of Main street in Montrose. That structure is said to have been the platform of a barracks well and it is now a platform for three reader-boards and a small stone monument to the fort. Only one of the reader-boards pertains to the fort while the other two are about the Mormon experience in the area. Location: Riverview Park, Montrose, Lee County, Iowa. Maps & Images Lat: 40.53275 Long: -91.41375 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 535' GPS Locations: 40.53275, -91.41375 Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 284 Links: North American Forts - Fort Des Moines Visited: 8 Aug 2020