Fort Crawford
Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during the 19th century.
Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
Fort Crawford Museum in 2009 | |
Interactive map showing the location of Fort Crawford | |
| Location | Rice Street and South Beaumont Rd Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°2′37″N 91°8′49″W |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000121 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien spanned the existence of two fortifications, both of them named Fort Crawford. The first of was occupied from 1816 to 1832, the second from 1832 to 1856. Both of the forts formed part of a string of fortifications along the upper Mississippi River that also included Fort Snelling near Saint Anthony Falls in Minnesota, and Fort Armstrong in Rock Island, Illinois. Fort Crawford was also associated with a string of forts built along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, which included Fort Winnebago in Portage, Wisconsin and Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The site of the second fort has been preserved and holds the Fort Crawford Museum, located in the Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital. This is a 1930s reconstruction of the hospital serving the second fort. This building contains the only surviving building fragments of either fort, and it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1960.