A Dueling Ground

Back in the early days at the fort, disputes between officers and settlers were sometimes settled the way they often were on the frontier — with a duel. A stretch of open ground near the fort is remembered as one such dueling ground, where men met at dawn to defend their honor under an agreed set of rules. It is a stark piece of the site’s history, and a reminder of just how different frontier law and custom were from what came after statehood.