Fort Atkinson State Preserve is a state preserve of Iowa, USA, containing the remnants of Fort Atkinson, a U.S. Army frontier post created to keep the peace between various Native American tribes as well as prevent white settlers from encroaching on Indian lands. In February 2013 the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Atkinson Historic District.HistoryThe 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, negotiated between the United States and various tribes, established the Neutral Ground: the tribes agreed to land cession of a 40mi strip of land, two strips of land wide each on either side of the boundary roughly from present-day La Crosse, Wisconsin and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, extending from the Mississippi River to the Des Moines River in what today is southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa. Originally planned as a buffer zone between the Sioux, Sac and Fox Nations, the land was soon designated for the Ho-Chunk (or Winnebago) tribe after their removal from Wisconsin. Fort Atkinson was founded to keep the Ho-Chunk on the Neutral Ground, and to protect them from other tribes as well as prevent white traders and settlers from intruding on Indian land. The post was also reinforced the authority of the U.S. government official who operated a school, model farm and provided supplies to the Ho-Chunk.
