Fort Osage
Encyclopedia
Fort Osage was part of the United States factory trading post
system for the Osage Nation
in the early 19th century near Sibley, Missouri
.
The Osage in exchange for access to the trading post above the Missouri River
in 1808 in the Treaty of Fort Clark
ceded all of their lands east of the fort in Louisiana Territory
effectively leaving them with a small band of territory on the extreme western border of Missouri.
The fort ceased operations in the 1820s as the Osage in subsequent treaties ceded the rest of their land in Missouri. A replica of the fort was rebuilt on the site in the 1950s.
to find the Northwest Passage, Meriwether Lewis
and William Clark
noted the spot in June 1804, as they camped for the night just across the river:
Also, in 1804 Pierre Chouteau of the Chouteau
fur trading family and an agent for the Osage took Osage chiefs to meet President Thomas Jefferson
who promised to build them a trading post.
Fort Osage was one of three forts established by the U.S. Army to establish control over the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase
territories. Fort Madison was built to control trade and pacify Native Americans in the Upper Mississippi River region. Fort Belle Fontaine near St. Louis
controlled the mouth of the Missouri.
William Clark led a team in 1806 back to the site to begin construction of Fort Osage. In 1808 Chouteau negotiated a deal for the fort to be built for the protection of the Osage. The specific terms of the deal noted:
In order to get the protection, the Osage ceded all of Missouri east of the fort. The Great Osage were to receive $1,000 and the Little Osage were to get $500.
Fort Osage was abandoned during the War of 1812
because it was not considered to be under threat. Since most of the war's fighting was further east and north, the soldiers there were transferred to different locations. After the war the fort was reoccupied in 1814.
The fort was officially christened "Fort Osage" by Captain Eli Clemson who was in charge of the military garrison. It has also been informally referred to as "Fort Clark" in honor of William Clark who was in charge of Indian Affairs. It was one of the first United States military installations in Louisiana Territory became a major stopping point for visitors traveling the Missouri. Daniel Boone
was to visit it in 1814, at the age of 81, while on one of his last hunting trips. Sacagawea
and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau
, also stayed at the fort on their way back north to Dakota Territory.
It subsequently became known as "Fort Osage" and then was informally called "Fort Sibley" for George Sibley who succeeded Chouteau as the Osage Indian agent. Sibley's 16 year old wife held piano concerts for the mountainmen and traders that visited the Fort.
As the Osage ceded more and more of their land a new trading post at Fort Scott, Kansas
was established closer to the ancestral villages near the headwaters of the Osage River
near Nevada, Missouri
and its Osage mission formally ended in 1822.
The fort remained a landmark on the Santa Fe Trail
and a transit point for supplies going north. However, by 1836 it had been totally obliterated with its pre-cut wood used by local settlers for building houses and barns. The factory house was the last remaining structure, but burned to the ground, leaving only the rock foundation.
In the 1950s, archeologists searching for the site discovered the foundations of these buildings and rebuilt the Fort as closely as they could. Extensive surveys of the fort, done by William Clark and others, were preserved, making restoration to exact specifications relatively simple. It now stands, overlooking the Missouri River once again. The Fort Osage school district (including Fort Osage High School
), which serves northeast Independence
and the surrounding area, was named after it.
The Fort Osage Education Center, opened in November 2007, contains exhibits about the site's geology, 19th century natural history
, the Hopewell and Osage
native cultures, Lewis and Clark, Fort Osage and the Missouri River
.
Fort Osage is owned and operated by Jackson County Parks and Recreation. It is open to the public Tuesday thru Sunday from 9:00am to 4:30pm year round.
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
system for the Osage Nation
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
in the early 19th century near Sibley, Missouri
Sibley, Missouri
Sibley is a village in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 347 at the 2000 census. It is known as the home of Fort Osage National Historic Landmark.-Geography:Sibley is located at ....
.
The Osage in exchange for access to the trading post above the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
in 1808 in the Treaty of Fort Clark
Treaty of Fort Clark
The Treaty of Fort Clark was signed at Fort Osage on November 10, 1808 in which the Osage Nation ceded all the land east of the fort in Missouri and Arkansas north of the Arkansas River to the United States. The Fort Clark treaty and the Treaty of St...
ceded all of their lands east of the fort in Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...
effectively leaving them with a small band of territory on the extreme western border of Missouri.
The fort ceased operations in the 1820s as the Osage in subsequent treaties ceded the rest of their land in Missouri. A replica of the fort was rebuilt on the site in the 1950s.
History
During their famous ascent up the Missouri RiverMissouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
to find the Northwest Passage, Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
and William Clark
William Clark
William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in prestatehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri...
noted the spot in June 1804, as they camped for the night just across the river:
- high commanding position, more than 70 feet above high-water mark, and overlooking the river, which is here but of little depth
Also, in 1804 Pierre Chouteau of the Chouteau
Chouteau
Chouteau was the name of a highly successful French fur-trading family based in St. Louis, Missouri, members of which established posts in the Midwest and Western United States...
fur trading family and an agent for the Osage took Osage chiefs to meet President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
who promised to build them a trading post.
Fort Osage was one of three forts established by the U.S. Army to establish control over the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
territories. Fort Madison was built to control trade and pacify Native Americans in the Upper Mississippi River region. Fort Belle Fontaine near St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
controlled the mouth of the Missouri.
William Clark led a team in 1806 back to the site to begin construction of Fort Osage. In 1808 Chouteau negotiated a deal for the fort to be built for the protection of the Osage. The specific terms of the deal noted:
The United States being anxious to promote peace, friendship and intercourse with the Osage tribes, to afford them every assistance in their power, and to protect them from the insults and injuries of other tribes of Indians, situated near the settlements of the white people, have thought proper to build a fort on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the Fire PrairieFishing RiverThe Fishing River is a tributary of the Missouri River in western Missouri in the United States. It rises in the northeastern extremity of Kansas City in Clay County and flows generally eastward and southeastward through Clay and southeastern Ray counties, past the town of Mosby...
, and do agree to garrison the same with as many regular troops as the President of the United States may, from time to time, deem necessary for the protection of all orderly, friendly and well disposed Indians of the Great and Little Osage nations, who reside at this place, and who do strictly conform to, and pursue the counsels or admonitions of the President of the United States through his subordinate officers.
In order to get the protection, the Osage ceded all of Missouri east of the fort. The Great Osage were to receive $1,000 and the Little Osage were to get $500.
Fort Osage was abandoned during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
because it was not considered to be under threat. Since most of the war's fighting was further east and north, the soldiers there were transferred to different locations. After the war the fort was reoccupied in 1814.
The fort was officially christened "Fort Osage" by Captain Eli Clemson who was in charge of the military garrison. It has also been informally referred to as "Fort Clark" in honor of William Clark who was in charge of Indian Affairs. It was one of the first United States military installations in Louisiana Territory became a major stopping point for visitors traveling the Missouri. Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
was to visit it in 1814, at the age of 81, while on one of his last hunting trips. Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau
Toussaint Charbonneau
Toussaint Charbonneau was a French-Canadian explorer and trader, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is also known as the husband of Sacagawea.-Early years:...
, also stayed at the fort on their way back north to Dakota Territory.
It subsequently became known as "Fort Osage" and then was informally called "Fort Sibley" for George Sibley who succeeded Chouteau as the Osage Indian agent. Sibley's 16 year old wife held piano concerts for the mountainmen and traders that visited the Fort.
As the Osage ceded more and more of their land a new trading post at Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
was established closer to the ancestral villages near the headwaters of the Osage River
Osage River
The Osage River is a tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The Osage River is one of the larger rivers in Missouri. The river drains a mostly rural area of . The watershed includes an area of east-central Kansas and a large portion of west-central and central...
near Nevada, Missouri
Nevada, Missouri
Nevada is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2011 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County. Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood....
and its Osage mission formally ended in 1822.
The fort remained a landmark on the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
and a transit point for supplies going north. However, by 1836 it had been totally obliterated with its pre-cut wood used by local settlers for building houses and barns. The factory house was the last remaining structure, but burned to the ground, leaving only the rock foundation.
In the 1950s, archeologists searching for the site discovered the foundations of these buildings and rebuilt the Fort as closely as they could. Extensive surveys of the fort, done by William Clark and others, were preserved, making restoration to exact specifications relatively simple. It now stands, overlooking the Missouri River once again. The Fort Osage school district (including Fort Osage High School
Fort Osage High School
Fort Osage Senior High School is a high school located at 2101 N. Twyman Rd. in Independence, Missouri, belonging to the Fort Osage R-1 School District. It currently serves approximately 1,500 students from grades 9-12...
), which serves northeast Independence
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
and the surrounding area, was named after it.
Fort Osage National Historic Landmark
Currently the fort is known as Fort Osage National Historic Landmark and has been reconstructed to portray Fort Osage as it was in 1812. Living history demonstrations are given about early 19th century military and civilian life.The Fort Osage Education Center, opened in November 2007, contains exhibits about the site's geology, 19th century natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, the Hopewell and Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
native cultures, Lewis and Clark, Fort Osage and the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
.
Fort Osage is owned and operated by Jackson County Parks and Recreation. It is open to the public Tuesday thru Sunday from 9:00am to 4:30pm year round.