Fort Montgomery (Eureka) (Eureka, Kansas)

Eureka · Kansas · Civil War

Quick BriefFort Montgomery was built in summer 1861 by local citizens for protection against Indian attacks and Confederate guerrilla forces in Eureka, Kansas. Named after free-state leader James Montgomery, the log fortress served as militia headquarters, a schoolhouse after the town's school burned, and later housed the Eureka Herald newspaper office before disappearing.

Civil War

History & Significance

Greenwood County, Kansas, was concerned about the violence from Confederates and attacks from local tribes when it established Fort Montgomery during the Civil War in 1861. The fortress was a solidly built large rectangular building with gun-hole windows, surrounded by layers of green logs covered with earth up to the level of the gun holes, and built to protect local citizens from Indian attacks and pro-slavery forces, with a small cannon mounted outside.

It was commanded by a local farmer named Leander Bemis but was sometimes occupied by local militia and government scouts. When Eureka's school burned in 1861, classes were taught at the fort.

After regular troops left in 1868, the fort became the first newspaper office of The Eureka Herald, starting on July 4, 1868, though the editor S. G. Mead had to remodel the fort, which by then showed many signs of wear. Home guards at Fort Montgomery protected local citizens during the Civil War, kept peace with the Osage Indians, and oversaw occasional isolated violence.