Fort Meade South Dakota
| Location | Meade, South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44.4094, -103.4711 |
| Access | Public - museum, ticketed, seasonal - an active Veterans Affairs campus |
Fort Meade began as a military post on the northern edge of the Black Hills at a moment when gold mining and settlement were rapidly changing the region. After an earlier temporary camp, the permanent post near Bear Butte Creek was established in 1878. Its position linked the growing mining district around Deadwood with military supply and stage routes. The Army’s institutional account describes the post as protection for settlers; that purpose also placed federal soldiers within the contested homelands of Lakota and Cheyenne people.
The rest of this file is sealed. 2 more sections: what happened next, what people still report, and how to visit.
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