PAP.Na'l^T' HISTORIC SITES ARCHEOLOGY — MILLS 33 



stances surrounding life at posts and agencies of this sort that played 

 such an important part at so crucial a time in the development and 

 westward expansion of the American frontier. Six sites were 

 examined : Fort Hale, Lower Brule Agency, Fort Lower Brule, Fort 

 Lookout, Whetstone Agency and Army Post, and Fort Randall. 

 Excavations were carried on at the latter four of these. A description 

 of the results of these examinations and excavations is outlined in the 

 following pages. 



FOET RANDALL (39GR15) 



INTRODUCTION 



Fort Randall was established in 185G and garrisoned that year by 

 the Second Infantry and Second Dragoons.* The original post was 

 replaced by one of new construction between 1870 and 1872. Fort 

 Randall played a key role in the hostilities which followed the Minne- 

 sota Sioux uprising in the early ISGO's, in the Black Hills gold rush of 

 the 1870's, and in the Dakota land boom of the 1880's. It was a major 

 supply base for upriver and inland military posts, and a symbol of 

 law and order to the restless Sioux and Ponca Indians on Dakota 

 Territory reservations. The post was officially abandoned in 1892. 



The only standing structures of Fort Randall remaining today are 

 the Fort Randall church and an officers' quarters building. The church 

 was built in 1872 by soldiers of the post and was used as a chapel, 

 library, and Odd Fellows Hall. The rear section of the officers' quar- 

 ters building is reputed to have been used as a part of the post morgue. 

 This building, formerly located near the post parade ground, was 

 moved by early settlers at the turn of the century, according to local 

 informants, to the south side of Randall Creek, some half a mile or so 

 to the south. 



In the summer of 1950 the ruins of Fort Randall were examined 

 by a reconnaissance party led by Thomas R. Garth. An area of 

 concentrated surface refuse in the southeastern marginal area of the 

 military post ruins was recorded as site 39GR15. At that time scat- 

 tered brick, glass fragments, chinavv^are sherds, and portions of a 

 trade pipe and clay pipestem were collected from the surface. This 

 site was thus identified as being of white provenience, and indica- 

 tions pointed to its being a part of the Fort Randall military post or 

 at least to its being associated with that post. Further evcava- 

 tion w^as therefore recommended owing to the possibility of the de- 

 struction of the site resulting from construction activities at the Fort 

 Randall Dam, nearby. 



The site is located in the center of a bottomland cornfield, sur- 

 rounded by a large stand of cottonwood, one-half a mile south of 



* Documeutary data pertaining to military posts and Indian agencies utilized in this 

 report have been abstracted from Mattes, 1949, pp. 470-577. 



