Fort Drinkwater (Chase County, Kansas)
Chase County · Kansas · Indian Wars
History & Significance
Orlo H. Drinkwater, an abolitionist from Pennsylvania, settled in the Cottonwood Valley of Chase County in 1857, one of the earliest European settlers in the region. He constructed a cabin along a tributary stream in the western part of the county and named the settlement Cedar Point.
In 1862, a post office was established there with Drinkwater serving as postmaster, marking the formal founding of Cedar Point. Fort Drinkwater functioned as one of several community-built fortifications in Kansas during the Indian Wars period, serving dual purposes as both a defensive structure and post office.
Like many civilian forts erected across Kansas during territorial expansion and the Civil War era, it represented settler initiative in the face of frontier hardship. Drinkwater remained an influential community leader, serving in the Kansas Free State legislature during the territorial period and later holding county office. His legacy extended beyond military defense; in the post-war years, he and business partner P. P. Schriver developed the Drinkwater & Schriver Mill (1875), a major limestone grist mill that became one of the finest milling operations in Chase County, supporting the broader agricultural development of the region.
Key Facts
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_forts_and_posts
- https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/215508
- https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=km/items/view/215508
- https://www.loc.gov/item/ks0201/
- https://www.ksgenweb.org/archives/1878/chase.html
- https://legendsofkansas.com/chase-county-kansas/