By Unknown author - Outline Descriptions of the Posts in the Military Division of the Missouri, commanded by Lieutenant General P. H. Sheridan. Chicago, 1876. https://archive.org/details/GR_4327, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70366789
The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates. N 44 21.833 W 094 21.670
Fort Randall was established in 1856 to keep peace between native peoples and white settlers. Located along the Missouri River bordering South Dakota and Nebraska, it was part of a chain of forts protecting the overland route along the Platte River, as well as the upper Missouri River. It served longer as a continuously occupied military post than any other fort.
A number of well known individuals passed through the fort, including Buffalo Bill Cody, Jim Bridger, and General Phillip Sheridan. Sitting Bull was held as a prisoner here. He and 158 of his tribe camped south of the fort and were kept under loose surveillance for two years beginning in 1881.
A variety of improvements were made in the 1870s, including a combination chapel, library, and lodge. When it was abandoned in 1892, the fort’s buildings and contents were sold at auction and removed, with the exception of the chapel.
Today, the ruins can be visited as part of the Missouri National Recreational River, a National Park Service park.
Sources: Wikipedia, National Park Service
----------
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.