Colonel Henry B. Carrington reached Piney Creek on the Bozeman Trail the 13th of July, 1866. At Crazy Woman's Fork, he had reported that it was 112 degrees in the shade. After a reconnaissance on Goose Creek and Tongue River, it was decided to build the post on a plateau between the forks of Little Piney Creek.
The Fort was build of pine logs, cut and hauled from the foothills of the Big Horns, about seven miles west. A train of up to 90 wagons was employed to haul logs from the Pinery (near where Story, Wyoming is today). Carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelrights, harness makers and other workmen came as civilian employees. Mowing machines, plows and garden tools were introduced into the virgin wilderness. Four blockhouses were built to protect the woodchoppers and teamsters employed. The first 6 months after the posts was established there were 154 persons killed by the Indians, and about 700 head of cattle, mules and horses captured.
THE STOCKADE:
The Fort was built 600 feet by 800 feet, enclosed with a stockade of heavy logs placed three feet in the ground and standing eight feet high. Machinery from the two sawmills was brought with the expedition and the mills were set up on Little Piney Creek and put into operation at once. Brick and shingle machines were included. The square spikes to nail the logs were about 5" long. Firing notches cut along the stockade banquet at every fifth log, with blockhouses or gun-bastions built on two opposite corners. There were gates on all sides. Five guard stands provided 24 hour surveillance of the grounds both inside and outside the post.
ENLISTED MAN'S QUARTERS: Better than Nothing
Some of the first structures built, the first four enlisted-men's barracks were 24x84 foot, green-log, panel constructed buildings with dirt roofs and floors. Each barracks was expected to house about 87 men. The men lived in an open bay with cast-iron stoves providing heat. The roofs leaked in the rain, providing homes for snakes, mice, and all sorts of critters. The green-log building material shrank as it dried, leaving gapes in the walls, and the dirt floors turned to mud. The enlisted man was poorly paid, poorly fed, and poorly housed. But it was better than nothing, if only slightly.
CAVALRYMAN'S QUARTERS: Few and Far Between
It is a false perception that the frontier posts of the American West were garrisoned with large troops of cavalry. Actually, a post's usual population was largely infantry with a few cavalry for support, reconnaissance, escort, or mail delivery. It was not until November 2, 1866 that any cavalry were stationed at the post. They were finally housed in a large, new 100 x 25 foot log panel constructed barracks with a shingle roof. Nearby was a 250 x 32 foot board and batten stables with corral, saddler's shop, and a blacksmith. Unfortunately, of those troops available on December 21, 1866 all were killed in the Fetterman Fight, leaving their quarters empty.
OFFICERS ROW:
Officers row was a group of seven to ten non-described wooden structures providing housing for officers and their families, and included surgeons, chaplains, and quartermasters. They were probably a combination lumber, log, canvas, and dirt construction with one room, seldom larger than 24 x 30 feet, and were the last living quarters built at the fort. Officers and their families were considered of a higher social order than the enlisted men and were expected to remain aloof except during duty, and never socialize. Officers social events included dances, picnics, teas, rides, and more.
On moving from the first officers' quarters, made up of two A-tents, into her log home Frances Grummond writes, "The house was made of pine logs, recently felled and not quite dry, and small pine poles were covered with clay for the roof. Beneath were three--yes, actually three--rooms. In my haste to move...I tacked blankets around the bed space, ..Pieces of sheeting answered for window shades and old newspapers covered the kitchen windows. The company taylor sewed gunny sacks from which the corn had been hurriedly emptied and I soon had a carpet. My residence seemed patatial."
POST HEADQUARTERS:
Here the commander issued his orders to Forts Phil Kearny, C.F. Smith, and Reno. During its existence, the 25 x 50 foot, one-inch plank board building was an office for Colonels Henry B. Carrington, Henry Wessells, and Jonathon Smith. The building was also the communication center for flag signalmen receiving and sending messages to Pilot Knob and other points. In 1867, Quartermaster Captain George Dandy described the building as "needing torn down." Yet it continued to function in a number of uses. One was as a school house, in which Chaplain White taught classes for the 10 children of 17 families on post.
- POST COMMANDER'S QUARTERS:
An 1867 quartermaster inspection of Fort Phil Kearny buildings indicated most in poor condition and many needing rebuilding. The post commander's house, however, was an exception. It was 48 x 32 foot frame building built of timber from a fire-dried tree stand, shingled, and with a 22 x 13 foot attached kitchen, and brick chimneys. The house was built for Colonel Carrington by the regimental band and initially housed the Colonel, his wife Margaret, their sons Jimmy and Harry, and butler George. After Carrington left the post, it housed commanders Henry Wessells and then, Jonathan Smith.
OTHER STRUCTURES:
- THE BAND QUARTERS
- SUTLER'S STORE
- THE GUARD HOUSE
- HOSPITAL
- LAUNDRESS ROW
- QUARTERMASTER AND COMMISSARY BUILDINGS
- THE MAGAZINE
- THE MAIN GATE
- THE FLAGPOLE: An awesome sight. The First garrison flag to fly between the North Platte and Yellowstone Rivers.
The sight of a huge 20 by 36 foot American flag flying atop a 124 foot flagpole came as a great relief to the traveler of the Bozeman Trail. It meant safe-haven, temporarily free from the rigors of the trail and from Indian attack. It was built of lodgepole pine, in two pieces, similar to a ship's mast, and pinned together by civilian builder William Dailey. It was raised, to much fanfare, on October 31, 1866. The band played on an octagonal bandstand at its base and Colonel Carrington addressed the post's residents, spoke of hardships and tribulations, and dedicated the new fort after nearly four months of occupation.
(Taken from Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site website (
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