Fort Scott began in 1842 as an army post on the road between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Gibson, created to protect westward-moving settlers and, in theory, Native communities. Built as an open prairie post around a large parade ground, it was only partly completed before the army stopped work and abandoned it in 1853. The site soon became a flashpoint during Bleeding Kansas, with rival free-soil and pro-slavery factions occupying former fort buildings. Reoccupied by the Union in 1861, it served as a major supply depot, hospital, prison, and recruiting and training site for Black soldiers. Restored in the twentieth century, it preserves an unusually complete frontier post.