"You would laugh to see the Fort, here is a group of log shanties covered with dirt, most of the windows are made of boards hung on leather hinges and made to swing open and shut. There is two or three of them which have a half window sash and some of them have panes of glass in them. I suppose the aristocracy reside in them which have the glass. It is a military post. There are soldiers established here. There is but very few log shacks perhaps eight or ten in all and a cat could go in and out of them between the logs. There is a row of caves along the river bank in which the soldiers burrow in winter. You can look away & see nothing but high stony hills and valleys... This country should be left to the Indians and wild beasts and such is pretty much the case."

On at least two occasions, Indians directly attacked Fort Ellsworth, once shortly after the fort after the fort was established, they drove off about 50 horses and five mules. The second attack happened the next summer in June, 1865, but little is known about it.

In 1865, the fort also acquired a stage station for the Butterfield Stage Line which traveled along the Smoky Hill Trail between Atchison, Kansas and Denver, Colorado. But the stage coaches were often in danger from the Indians, who often waylaid them, killing a number of drivers. The soldiers spent much of their time escorting the stage through the perilous area.  

In 1866, the fort was renamed Fort Harker in honor of General Charles Garrison Harker, who died in combat during the Civil War. The following year the fort was relocated one mile to the northeast closer to the Union Pacific Railroad terminus. The buildings of the old fort were torn down. The railroad was completed in July, 1867 and Fort Harker soon became a major supply post for forts farther west as well as a number of military campaigns to subdue the Indians.

The Indians increased their resistance, but this would not be the worst of the depredations at Fort Harker. No sooner was the new fort completed when a Cholera epidemic broke out. From June to December of 1867, more than 800 cases were reported, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people, both civilians and soldiers alike. 

While the officers and commanders were making the plans for military campaigns, the soldiers were often spending their time in the nearby lawless town of Ellsworth, where the cattle trade was making the flourishing settlement one of the most wicked in Kansas.

By 1871, Fort Harker had declined in importance in the Indian Wars as the natives had been driven westward.  In March and April of 1872, the majority of troops were moved southwest to Fort Union, New Mexico. The base was completely abandoned by October 5, 1872.

Today, three of the original buildings are now part of the Fort Harker Musuem, run by the  Ellsworth County Historical Society. The complex includes the original guardhouse, junior officer’s quarters, and the old railroad depot. Other buildings once used by commanding officers have been modernized and are now utilized as private residences.

The post is located in the tiny town of Kanopolis, about five miles southeast of Ellsworth, Kansas.

Fort Harker Guardhouse Museum Complex
308 West Ohio

Kanopolis, Kansas 67454
785-472-3059

Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, © September, 2007