Site of the Second Fort Crawford
1829 – 1856
The first Fort Crawford was built in 1816, and stood on the site now occupied by the "Villa Louis." After a decade of Mississippi River flooding, the U. S. Army relocated Fort Crawford to this site, constructing the new fort of locally quarried limestone. Under construction from 1829-1834, the fort included housing for eight companies of soldiers and their officers. The army added a separate surgeon's quarters and military hospital. The soldiers built the fort while on fatigue duty but were often called away from the construction to settle Indian disputes. In 1825, 1829, and 1830 important Indian treaties were negotiated at the first and second Fort Crawford. Here, on August 27, 1832, Sauk Indian leader Black Hawk surrendered, ending the Black Hawk War. Colonel Zachary Taylor, Colonel Willoughby Morgan, Lt. Jefferson Davis, and Dr. William Beaumont served at Fort Crawford in the 1830s. The Fort Crawford Hospital was partially reconstructed by WPA workers in honor of Dr. William Beaumont, renowned for his pioneer experiments in human digestion.
Erected 1999
Marker is on West Rice Street west of South Beaumont Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
