Fort Scott National Historic Site is temporarily reducing its hours of operation to 8:30am-4:30pm Friday through Tuesday tentatively through the end of March.
The park grounds will not be closing, only the park’s public buildings and Visitor Center on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Due to an extended staffing shortage the park is temporarily unable to provide adequate operational coverage and visitor services.
The staff shortage “appears to be a combination of a smaller applicant pool at all levels which is also leading to staffing shortages in the Human Resources offices at the regional and national levels,” said Carl Brenner, FSNHS Program Manager for Interpretation and Resource Management.
Administrative and facility operations will continue as normal. By the end of March, the park projects returning to normal operations seven days each week.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and temporary visitor center are open Friday through Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset.
Fort Scott National Historic Site (park) and Marais Des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge (refuge) are setting up a trial run for a new Christmas Bird Count “Circle” with the National Audubon Society.
The park and refuge invite birdwatchers to participate in the longest running community science survey, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC).
Saturday, December 16, birders and nature enthusiasts should meet at the park’s Visitor Center in Fort Scott at 7:30 and/or 10 am. No experience is necessary to participate in the count.
Counts will be led by Fort Scott National Historic Site Park Ranger Jessica Nielsen and US Fish and Wildlife Visitor Services Coordinator Nova Clarke.
“Currently, there is no data being collected for the Christmas Bird Count in Bourbon County,” said Jessica Nielsen. “To establish a new count location, the Audubon Society recommends holding a trial count. This event will serve as Fort Scott National Historic Site’s trial run, with staff hoping to establish an official count for 2025.”
This year, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count will mobilize nearly 80,000 volunteer bird counters in more than 2,600 locations across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count utilizes the power of volunteers to track the health of bird populations at a scale that scientists could never accomplish alone.
When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years. The long-term perspective is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds, and their habitat, and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well. Christmas Bird Count data have been used in more than 300 peer-reviewed articles.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset.
Jessica Nielsen leads a group to each historical vignette at Fort Scott National Historic Site on December 2, 2023.
The 42nd Annual Fort Scott National Historic Site Candlelight Tour, December 1 and 2 was entitled Glowing Heartbeats of History.
The vignettes of local history focused on the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health of the soldiers and local townspeople.
The temperatures in the 40s and damp weather did not stop people from attending the tour this year.
1,000 candle lanterns illuminated the site with a peaceful ambiance and reenactors helped bring 1860s history alive at the fort.
During the tour, participants were immersed in ways people have historically been provided the opportunity to be well, despite their circumstances, according to a press release from the fort.
The Fort Scott High School Drama Club wrote the scene at the hospital tent for the tour, the other vignettes were written by the FSNHS staff, Carl Brenner, Program Manager for Interpretation and Resource Management said.
About the Fort
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation.
The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset.
For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site programs or to become involved in the candlelight tour, or other activities, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
From left, Dwayne Gentleman, Dee Young, Skip Thomas, and Jan Elder converse about life in the community in the 1860s. Submitted by Carl Brenner/NPS. This vignette was at the Officers’ Quarters No. 2 and was a discussion of the budding romance of John Little and Sene Campbell and the growth of the town amidst conflict. Photo credit: Carl Brenner/NPS.
The fort’s well is in the center of the Fort Scott National Historic Site compound.From left to right, Cassie Edson, Susan Anderson, and Chris Morgan depict hospital treatment of injury and disease during the Civil War.Left to right, Justin Hall, Chris Schafer, and Amanda Clark are a group of performers called the Homes Brigade Minstrels, who portrayed the benefits of music during the Civil War. The trio led the group in singing a few Christmas carols.From left, Luke Leighsing and Matthew Wells tell of the health of the horses and survival needs for patrolling the overland trails. Photo credit: Carl Brenner/NPS.
Chief Opothleyahola, Credit Photo as: National Archives Photo
Fort Scott National Historic Site concludes the first year of Native American Experience programming with two chapters from the Civil War in Kansas.
The first presentation, “A Shield Against the World”: Opothleyahola and the Trail of Blood on Ice Campaign in the Civil War, is by Dr. Michelle M. Martin on Saturday, November 18th, at 1 pm.
The second presentation, “Allies and Adversaries”: The role of American Indians in the Civil War west of the Mississippi River, is by Arnold W. Schofield on Sunday, November 19th, at 2 pm.
Both programs will be held in the park’s Theater on the second floor of the western Infantry Barracks.
“A Shield Against the World”: During the American Civil War the Five Southeastern Nations in the Indian Territory were divided. Pro‐Union, Pro‐Confederate, and Neutral factions developed within the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Mvskoke, and Seminole Nations. Wishing to remain neutral, Mvskoke leader Opothleyahola provided shelter to men, women, and children who wanted to stay out of the war. In the fall of 1861 Opothleyahola’s followers neared 10,000 and he led them on a desperate flight north to the safety of Union Kansas. Dr. Michelle M. Martin, an Assistant Professor of History/Coordinator of the Public History Certificate in the Department of History at Northeastern State University, will share this incredible and often misunderstood event in Native American history.
“Allies and Adversaries”: The program will be presented by retired NPS Historian Arnold W. Schofield, and its primary focus will be on the organization, recruitment and combat history of the Three Regiments of Indian Home Guards from Kansas. The program will close on an unknown aspect of the Civil War in Kansas, the Indian uprising by the plains tribes in 1864.
Dr. Michelle M. Martin is a Michigan native who made her way west after completing her BA and MA degrees in history at Western Michigan University. From 1997-2015 she lived in Fort Scott, Kansas and Bartlesville, Oklahoma where she taught history at the community college and university levels and worked as a museum professional and historical consultant to the television and film industries. While living in Kansas and Oklahoma Martin volunteered her time to various national, state, and local historic sites including Fort Scott NHS, Fort Larned NHS, Constitution Hall, Mine Creek Battlefield, and Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. She earned her doctorate in history (and a minor in museum studies) at the University of New Mexico in 2022 with highest honors. Her dissertation was selected for the Linda Williams Reese Award from the Oklahoma Historical Society as the Outstanding Dissertation on Oklahoma History in March 2023. In August 2023 she joined the faculty in the Department of History at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her areas of interest include Native American history, the U.S. West from 1800-1925, Kansas history from 1854-1865, interracial marriage and family in North America, and Public History. Her current project explores interracial marriage in the Mvskoke Nation during the Indian Territorial period.
Arnold W. Schofield is a retired NPS Historian who spent much of his civilian career at Fort Scott National Historic Site. He is currently a researcher, public speaker, and traveling lecturer around the region.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset.
Janette and her B.A.R.K. Ranger Freckles. Credit Photo as: NPS Photo/C. Brenner
Inaugural BARK Ranger Event
Saturday, November 4, 2023, Fort Scott National Historic Site, in partnership with Paws and Claws, will host an inaugural B.A.R.K. Ranger event from 9 a.m. until noon. Hourly activities include guided pet walks around the park grounds, free toenail trims for dogs, pet adoptions, K9 demonstrations, and various pet vendors on Skubitz Plaza including the new Fort Scott High School Tiger Barkery.
Continually from 10 a.m. until noon, low-cost vaccinations ($15 multi-vax shot), free heartworm testing, and low-cost microchipping ($20) will be provided by local veterinarians.
National parks are exciting places for pets to visit with their family while on vacation. Sometimes these new places can be so exciting as to be overstimulating. Join these events to learn how to have a positive experience with your pet in unfamiliar environments. Learn the B.A.R.K. principles so you and your pet can have a safe and fun visit anytime you go to a national park. This program is part of the Healthy People Healthy Parks Initiative. More information can be found at www.nps.gov/subjects/pets. B.A.R.K. stands for:
Bag your pet’s waste
Always leash your pet
Respect wildlife
Know where you can go
Fort Scott National Historic Site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee this Thursday, October 26th at 8 a.m. hosted by Fort Scott National Historic Site, located at 1 Old Fort Blvd. The Chamber Coffee will be in the park’s Theater on the second floor of the Infantry Barracks just west, to the left, of the Visitor Center. Coffee, juice, and light refreshments will be provided by The Friends of Fort Scott.
Fort Scott National Historic Site will be promoting the 42nd annual Candlelight Tour. The tour centers around peace on the frontier with five stops around the site. The entire tour is outside this year, so they encourage visitors to dress for the weather. Tickets go on sale November 1st, Friday tours 6:30-9pm and Saturday tours 5-9pm. Tours start every 15 minutes and last approximately 1 hour. Tickets are $8.00 per person and children 5 and under are free. Contact Fort Scott National Historic Site at 620.223.0310 for more information.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information.
Fort Scott, Kan. – The leaves are changing for fall and winter, so are the hours of operation at Fort Scott National Historic Site. Beginning Wednesday, November 1, the park’s historic structures will be open daily from 8:30 am–4:30 pm through March 31, 2024. The buildings are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The park grounds, walkways, and parking lot continue to be open from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset daily.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is a fee free park that offers a glimpse into the growth of our nation through a short film, interactive audio-visual programs, displays, museum spaces, and historic objects. A walk through the fort reveals the significant role it played in the opening of the West, the Civil War, and the strife in the State of Kansas that preceded it.
Park Rangers are on hand and happy to help you learn more about the area and plan your visit. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort before your visit, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023, tickets for Fort Scott National Historic Site’s 42nd Annual Candlelight Tour go on sale. Tickets are available by calling the fort at 620-223-0310 (with a major credit card) or by stopping by the Visitor Center on Old Fort Blvd. Tickets are $8.00 per person and non-refundable, children 5 and under are free. It is recommended that you get your tickets early to ensure your choice of tour times, as this event frequently sells out.
The 42nd Annual Candlelight Tour is Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2, 2023. Tours on December 1 will begin at 6:30 pm and leave every 15 minutes until 9 pm. On Saturday, December 2, the tours will start at 5 pm with the final tour leaving at 9 pm. Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to park, present/pick up your ticket, and get oriented. Participants are advised to please dress for the weather and conditions, as the entire tour will be outside and on sidewalks.
1,000 candle lanterns illuminate the site and reenactors (including you) bring the fort to life.
This year’s tour is about Health and Wellness. During the tour, you will be immersed in ways people have historically been provided the opportunity to be healthy and embrace happiness, despite their struggles.
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation. The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset. For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site programs or become involved in the candlelight tour, or other activities, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023, join Fort Scott National Historic Site guides for a special candle lantern walk called the Murder and Mayhem at the Fort Lantern Tour, according to a press release.
There is no cost to the public.
Tour guides from the 1840s-1860s, will share some of the lesser-told tragedies and macabre events that were far too common in Fort Scott’s 19th century.
“There was violence and tragedy that happened at the fort during the 1840s to the 1860s,” Carl Brenner, FSNHS Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management, said. “The fort was the whole town during this time, and there were 1,000s of soldiers here during the Civil War.”
They will talk, in period costume, about some of those events.
Tour guides are Carl Brenner, Barry Geertsen, and Jessica Nielsen-employees at the Fort, and Matthew Wells, a member of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site.
These four special Halloween lantern tours will start every 30 minutes beginning at 6:30 pm at the visitor center.
Space is limited and required reservations will open Friday, October 13, at 8:30 a.m. Contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit the website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Those with reservations, please arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to park and get oriented, according to the press release. Participants are advised to please dress for the weather and conditions, as the entire tour will be outside and on sidewalks.
“We’ve been planning this for several years,” Brenner, said. “But staff turnover precluded us from moving forward. All our pumpkins are in a line now and we can move forward.”
Carl Brenner.
Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Full moon over the Fort Scott National Historic Site Parade Ground. Photo credit: NPS, C. Brenner
Special Night Sky Program
Saturday, October 28, 2023, Fort Scott National Historic Site will share stories and a closer look at October’s full Hunter’s, or Hunting, Moon. The program will begin just after the moonrise at 6:30 pm and telescope viewing begins just after twilight at 7 pm.
Look up to the same October Hunter’s Moon as it ushers in fall and winter, discussing what it could mean to you and your family as people have done for centuries on the American frontier. Then look closer at the next frontier on our moon and other planets, or last frontier of deep space.
The Kansas Astronomical Observers will join Park Rangers with their telescopes, spotting scopes, and binoculars sharing how you can take a closer look at our moon from your own back yard.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Fort Scott Kan. – Thursday, September 14, 2023, Fort Scott National Historic Site will host the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS) and the U.S. District Court, Kansas District, for a Special Naturalization Ceremony. Check-in for new citizens begins at 8 am and the ceremony will begin at 10:30 am. The Honorable Teresa J. James, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas, will preside over the ceremony on the historic grounds of the Fort.
The ceremony features musical performances from the Fort Scott High School orchestra and choir, welcoming remarks by Acting Superintendent Carl Brenner and Mayor Matthew Wells, and an address from Mark McCoy, former city manager for the City of Fort Scott.
Approximately 95 applicants will be naturalized from 36 different countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burma, Canada, China, Congo (Kinshasa), Egypt, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Honduras, India, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, South, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam) at the ceremony, which is open to the public. There will be seating for the applicants, but other seating will be limited. Friends, family, and guests are highly encouraged to bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets for seating. In case of rain or other inclement weather, the ceremony will be held at Fort Scott Memorial Hall.
Fort Scott National Historic Site’s, a unit of the National Park Service, exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The park grounds are open daily from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
Friends of the Fort Scott National Historical Site
Reed Hartford, president of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site tells of some of the support services the group provided the fort to Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce attendees in 2017. Matt Wells is the current president.
The Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site, INC. (Friends) will have its Annual Meeting on Monday, September 11, 2023, at 6:00pm in Zimmerman Hall (the basement) in the Presbyterian Church on 3rd and Crawford Street (south entrance). This event is free and open to the public.
“The community and all members of the Friends are encouraged to attend,” said Matt Wells, President of the Friends of Fort Scott National Historic Site, INC. “We will elect new officers, begin planning for next year’s activities, and enjoy refreshments and a special discussion with Fire Chief David Bruner on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11,” continued Wells.
The Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site, INC was formed in 2009 to work in cooperation with Fort Scott National Historic Site. Members primary purpose is to support, advocate, and promote the importance of the Fort and its history through education, fundraising
