Fort Scott National Historic Site - Labor Day Weekend (U.S. National Park Service)

Chris Morgan, VIP, portrays medical doctor

NPS Photo

Chris Morgan, VIP, portrays 1840s surgeon.

Come and explore Fort Scott this Labor Day weekend. See soldiers, civilians, and ladies of the 1840s Frontier Army Era hard at work. Are you feeling poorly? Visit with the post surgeon about your ailments but watch out for his leeches. Why not come and help the laundresses wash dirty laundry? Come see various items offered for sale to soldiers and civilians by the Post Sutler. Smell the aroma of freshly baked bread from the fort bake house and witness soldiers performing an historic weapons artillery booming. Living history activities and demonstrations will be ongoing throughout the day.

You can travel back to yesteryear when bloodletting, baking, and booming were commonplace. Fort Scott National Historic Site, located in Fort Scott, KS, will be providing a variety of programs Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, August 30th – September 1st. Traditional living history activities and demonstrations highlighting 1840s garrison life will be the focus of Saturday’s events. A series of programs entitled “Highlights in History” will be offered Sunday and Monday.

“Highlights in History” on Sunday, August 31, and Monday, September 1, feature programs that interpret Fort Scott’s role in some of the most pivotal events in American history. Bullpup is a program that explores the strategic importance of the Mountain Howitzer in the Trans-Mississippi theatre during the Civil War. Hear excerpts from the diary of Emma Morley in I thought this Place Doomed and discover one woman’s difficulties traveling to Fort Scott during the perilous Civil War years. The Washerwomen will demonstrate the importance of laundresses, a vital cog of the 1840s frontier army. Siege of Fort Scott examines the role James Montgomery played when he held the fate of Fort Scott in his hands during the “Bleeding Kansas” years.

SATURDAY AUGUST 30

10:00 a.m. – Scrub, Scrub, Scrub - Post Laundress
10:30 a.m. – Pen and Ink: Communication on the Frontier – Officer’s Wife
11:00 a.m. – Boom – Artillery Demo
12:00 a.m. – Are you in Need of Bloodletting? – Post Surgeon
1:00 p.m. - Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – Don’t be Fresh - Bake-House Program
3:00 p.m. – Canned Oysters and Calico - Post Sutler
4:00 p.m. - Flag Retreat

SUNDAY AUGUST 31

10:00 a.m. - Bullpup
11:00 a.m. – I Thought this Place Doomed
12:00 a.m. – The Washerwomen
1:00 p.m. – Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – Fort Scott under Siege
3:00 p.m. – Pen and Ink: Communication on the Frontier

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1

10:00 a.m. – Bullpup
11:00 a.m. – The Washerwomen
1:00 p.m. - Guided Tour
2:00 p.m. – Fort Scott under Siege
3:00 p.m. – Pen and Ink: Communication on the Frontier

Fort Scott National Historic Site is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is an entrance fee of $3.00 for each adult 16 and over. Children 15 and under are admitted free of charge. For more information call the site at 620-223-0310 or visit our web site at www.nps.gov/fosc.