Fort Atkinson was established in 1840 to monitor the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Nation after they had been forced to move from their traditional homeland in Wisconsin to the Neutral Ground in northeastern Iowa. Its founder, Brigadier General Henry Atkinson, promised the Ho-Chunk that the fort would protect them from white settlers moving into the territory, while the government also expected the soldiers to prevent the Ho-Chunk from returning to their homeland. Horse-mounted dragoons were stationed there to patrol the Neutral Ground and keep the peace. Orders and supplies came from the Second Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and soldiers frequently traveled between the forts along the Military Road, which crossed the Mississippi River at Harpers Ferry, with the Joel Post house about halfway along the 50-mile route often serving as an overnight camp. Although no fighting took place there, Atkinson chose a high bluff that offered a strong defensive position. Regular troops were garrisoned there for six years, and three of those years were spent constructing the fort, with the major buildings and stockade built between 1842 and 1845. The fort was disbanded in 1849 after the Ho-Chunk were moved out of Iowa and the soldiers were sent to fight in the Mexican-American War. In 1855 many buildings were torn down and their salvaged materials were used in the town of Fort Atkinson. In 1921 part of the property was purchased by the state of Iowa, in 1958 some of the North Barracks and log stockade were reconstructed, and in 1968 the fort was dedicated as a State Preserve. Archaeological and historical investigations beginning as early as 1939 recovered numerous artifacts and building foundations that help tell the story of life there.