Fort Snelling is quite the place to go exploring, especially if you head to the upper post area. There are some good-sized abandoned (for now) buildings, which includes office buildings, houses for the big shots, and a LONG barracks building.
After doing some research, it looks like those big buildings got abandoned around 1997. An MPR article from 2018 points out that the place was considered the “military capital of the Dakotas.” Those once-stately buildings have fallen on some hard times.
I’ll be completely honest here; you know I like to explore in places that I’m sometimes not allowed to go. However, even if I’d been able to get in those buildings today (more on that in a moment), I told a fellow explorer that a big guy like me at 260 pounds might find himself in the basement without even walking down the stairs.
Speaking of getting in there: fellow explorers, you can’t. Don’t even try. The military put up a pretty solid chain link fence close to the buildings. Now that refurbishing work is underway, there’s a second chain-link fence set up several feet outside of the first fence. And there are security cameras up there too.
Substreet.org says Fort Snelling was first sold off in 1858, a long time after Minnesota lost its status as a frontier state. However, the Civil War and conflicts between settlers and the Dakota meant a military post was needed in the Twin Cities. In 1861, the fort was called into action again as a muster and command station, sending northern troops both to the east and west.
Shortly after the Civil War ended, the Army redesigned the upper post at Fort Snelling as the “Department of the Dakotas.” The Army then expanded the complex in 1879 with a new headquarters and officer’s quarters. A long brick infantry barracks building sprang up about ten years later.
But the development didn’t stop there, as it continued through 1907 with more stables, more barracks, warehouses, a hospital, workshops, and other support buildings. The post was a place to train new officers and where the wounded could heal. In fact, Substreet.org says it became known as the “Country Club of the Army” after they added a golf club and a hunting club.
I found at least two articles over the past three-to-five years that mentioned plans to turn the old buildings into affordable housing. At least one deal was signed before it slowed down. There’s a sign saying Weis Builders is doing the work to get the old buildings into livable condition.
Here’s the link to the complete photo album on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=chad.smith.75685&set=a.4021404441253295