Fort Keogh

Fort Keogh (1876-1924) - Established Aug 1876 by Colonel Nelson A. Miles, 5th U.S. Infantry and named after Captain Myles W. Keogh, 7th U.S. Cavalry, who was killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, 25 Jun 1876. Also known as New Post on the Yellowstone, Cantonment on Tongue River, Camp on Tongue River and Tongue River Barracks. Transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1924.

Fort Keogh Buildings	Fort Keogh Plan 1878
Fort Keogh 1880

Fort Keogh History

Fort Keogh was established in August 1876 by Colonel (Bvt. brigadier general) Nelson A. Miles for whom Miles City, Montana is named. The original size of the Fort Keogh Military reservation was 100 square miles, 64,000 acres. The original site known as Cantonment on Tongue River was abandoned in favor of a site a mile west of the original. The new site was officially named Fort Keogh 8 Nov 1878.

The fort was laid out with officers' quarters facing in toward a diamond shaped parade field and the sets of enlisted barracks facing from the northeast and southeast. The headquarters was located at the northern tip and the Commander's quarters was located at the western tip.

All infantry troops were withdrawn in 1907 and in 1909 Fort Keogh became a Remount Station for the U.S. Army. The Army relinquished the land in 1922 and withdrew 2 Feb 1924. On 15 Apr 1924 the Fort Keogh Military Reservation was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Current Status

The fort site is now on the property of the USDA, ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, 243 Fort Keogh Rd., Miles City, MT 59301-4016, Phone: 406-874-8200, Fax: 406-874-8289. The remains of the original Fort include the parade ground, a wagon shed built sometime after 1883 and restored recently, a flag pole erected around 1903, and seven other structures built prior to 1924.

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Location: West of Miles City, Custer County, Montana, on Hwy 94. Maps & Images Lat: 46.379776 Long: -105.880005 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 2370'

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 472
• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 71
• Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 82
• USDA Historical Perspective
• Warhank, Josef James, Fort Keogh: Cutting Edge of a Culture, Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, California, December 1983.
• Post returns available Aug 1876 - Jul 1912 at Ancestry.com (by Subscription)

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Keogh

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