Established to control the Sioux and other local Indians after the Custer Massacre in June 1876.
Fort Custer had quarters for 10 companies including stables for 6 troops of cavalry. It was built with buildings surrounding a large parade ground but had no walls or other fortifications.
When the fort was closed the buildings were sold and some of the structures and materials were used in the nearby town of Hardin, Montana.
Current Status
A DAR marker is located at the edge of the old post but there are no visible remains where the post stood.
Location: U.S. Hwy 87 south of Hardin, Montana, where the Hwy crosses the Big Horn River. Off to the west at the top of a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Big Horn and Little Horn Rivers. The map point is the DAR Marker location.
Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 79-80
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 470