‘Garrisoning’ the forts
Part I: Fort Berthold
BY HUNTER L. ANDES
Editor’s note: To condense Garrison’s rich history into a newspaper article would be impossible as well as irresponsible. The following is a brief history of how Garrison came to be — based on various local books and newspaper articles about the area. Ft. Stevenson was originally located roughly seven and a half miles southwest of present day Garrison and is not to be confused with Ft. Stevenson State Park, which is three miles south of town today. Ft. Berthold and Fort Atkinson were 18 miles upstream, straight south of present day White Shield.
Garrison hasn’t always been where it is today. What is known to historians as “Old Garrison” was originally located about five miles south of town. Old Garrison, along with Fort Stevenson and Fort Berthold, were all flooded by the Garrison Dam in the 1950s.
In order to fully understand how Garrison came to exist, the clock must first be wound back much further in time — to the foundation of Ft. Berthold and Like-a-Fishhook Village.
However, doing so wouldn’t be possible without the aid of two publications. The first, Garrison: The Bread and Butter City, written by Larry J. Sprunk in 1980. The second, McLean County Heritage, compiled by the McLean County Historical Society and published in 1978.
