Fort Fred Steele

Fort Fred Steele (1868-1886) - Established 30 Jun 1868 by Maj. Richard I. Dodge (Cullum 1387), 30th U.S. Infantry in Carbon County, Wyoming. Named for Colonel Frederick Steele (Cullum 1196), 20th U.S. Infantry. Abandoned 3 Nov 1886 after being transferred to the Interior Department 9 Aug 1886. Fort Fred Steele 1881 Powder Magazine. Fort Fred Steele Officers Quarters Ruins. Fort Fred Steele in 1868. History Fort Fred Steele Plan Fort Fred Steele Reconstructed Traders Post Fort Fred Steele Enlisted Quarters Ruins Fort Fred Steele State Marker. Fort Fred Steele Railroad Bridge at the Fort. One of three military forts designed to protect the Union Pacific Railroad route through Wyoming. Fort Fred Steele was established at a strategic point where the railroad crossed the North Platte River. Original military structures at Fort Steele included a commanding officer's quarters, officers quarters, two large warehouses, a powder magazine, two enlisted barracks and a number of smaller structures. After the post closed in 1886 a small community grew up in and around the abandoned fort. In 1922 the transcontinental Lincoln Highway was routed right along the edge of the fort but it was rerouted in 1939 and the town faded away. Current Status Fort Fred Steele Entrance Sign. Fort Fred Steele Information Kiosk. Fort Fred Steele State Historic Site. An 1881 Powder Magazine is one of the few remaining original buildings but a reconstructed traders post is under construction presumably for use as a visitor's center. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places 16 Apr 1969. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: West of Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming, 14 miles on I80 to exit 228 and then North on Hwy 347 2.5 miles. Maps & Images Lat: 41.778561 Long: -106.94742 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 6513' GPS Locations: 41.778561, -106.94742 Fort Fred Steele 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 858-859. Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 198. Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 186. Barnes, Jeff, Forts of the Northern Plains - Guide to Historic Military Posts of the Plains Indian Wars, Copyright 2008, Stackpole Books, ISBN 13: 978-0-8117-3496-7, ISBN 10: 0-8117-3496-X, page 184-189. Links: North American Forts - Fort Fred Steele State Marker Visited: 6 Jun 2010