Credit: Kurz, Friedrich. Fort Union. 1326.1093. 1852. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/13261093 (02/14/2017).
This cache IS NOT located at the posted coordinates.
Fort Union, or possibly Fort Henry or Fort Floyd, was built in the late 1820s by Kenneth McKenzie for the Upper Missouri Outfit of the American Fur Company. For the next forty years, it was the central, and busiest, trading post on the upper Missouri. Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibwe, Blackfoot, Hidatsa, Lakota, and other tribes traded beaver pelts and bison robes for goods from around the world including cloth, guns, blankets, and beads..The fort's location, well-stocked supplies, and skilled personnel contributed to its success in attracting both Native American trappers and Euro-American traders, with annual trading of over 25,000 buffalo robes and $100,000 in merchandise.
The fort also served as a melting pot of cultures, where Native Americans, European Americans, and Métis people interacted. The exchange of goods, ideas, and traditions occurred, shaping the cultural landscape of the region. Fort Union was not only a center for economic transactions but also a place where diverse groups of people coexisted and influenced each other.
Fort Union was abandoned in 1867 as a result of economic challenges, changing trade patterns, and the overall decline of the fur trade. The fort's structures were eventually dismantled or fell into disrepair.
The site was designated a national historic landmark in 1961. The National Park Service designated it Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site and interprets how it may have looked, partially based on Friedrich Kurz’s sketches.
Sources: Wikipedia, Of Languages and Numbers, HistoryNet, ChatGPT, American Indian Studies Research Institute, National Park Service
The cache may be found at: N 44° 22.498' W 94° 27.450'
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One of the oldest roads in the state, Fort Road was originally built by the federal government after Fort Ridgely was completed in 1853-54. Supplies were shipped from Fort Snelling to Traverse des Sioux, then transported by wagon to Fort Ridgely.
Nicollet County Road 5 runs more than 42 miles from its eastern terminus at its intersection with US Highway 169 in St Peter to the Renville County line. Old Fort Road presumably extended from Traverse des Sioux, although the portion running through the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College has been blocked off. Fort Road as an address runs from the western edge of St Peter to the end of CR-5.
In an ideal world, a paved trail would have been installed when the road was refurbished in the early 2010s. This planned geocache trail will have to suffice, but won’t alleviate my anxiety when biking here.