Fort Ridgely was a U.S. Army outpost (1853-1867) near the Dakota reservation in South-Western Minnesota (located near New Ulm). Built between 1853-1855, it played an important role in the 1862 Dakota War. Two battles were fought there on Aug. 20-22, 1862 between Army volunteers and refugees from the Minnesota River Valley, and Dakota forces. The Army abandoned the Fort in the early 1870s and moved westward. Civilians occupied the remaining buildings and later dismantled the structures for their own use. Today the building foundations are preserved by a private group and owned by the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) within the boundaries of Fort Ridgely State Park (DNR). The old commissary building (partially reconstructed by the Veteran Conservation Corps in the 1930s) now houses the museum. Dakota may refer to: A group of Amerindian tribes (see Lakota or Sioux), or lands named after them: The related tribes in Minnesota known as Dakota Oyate (Nation), or Santees, meaning allies, including the Prairie Island (Mdewakanton and Wahpekute) Indian Community, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, the Lower Sioux... New Ulm is a city located in Brown County, Minnesota. ...

[State Park Website] [[1]Minnesota Historical Society]

[[2]Additional History]