Fort Scott National Historic Site

A field of sunflowers adds a splash of color to a view of the parade ground at Fort Scott.
Promises made and broken! Who deserves to be free? The fight for freedom! Soldiers fighting settlers! Each of these stories is a link in the chain of events that encircled Fort Scott from 1842-1873. All of the site's structures, its parade ground, and its tallgrass prairie bear witness to this era when the country was forged from a young republic into a united transcontinental nation.
Map showing location of park.
Image of a white two story building with a white railed porch and bricks with candle lanters leading to it.
44th Annual Candlelight Tour Tickets on Sale Now
Tickets are now on sale for the 44th Annual Candlelight Tour at Fort Scott National Historic Site, set for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5–6, 2025. Tickets are available online at fofs.ludus.com for $5 per person The 45-minute guided tours depart every 15 minutes, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday and 5 to 8:45 p.m. Saturday, and end in the Grand Hall with warm drinks and snacks provided by the Friends of Fort Scott NHS.
Volunteers help park staff remove invasive plants from the restored tallgrass prairie.
Fort Scott National Historic Site to Host National Public Lands Day Event Sept. 27
Tens of thousands of volunteers across the country will join in trail maintenance, planting projects, trash pick-up, and other activities aimed at restoring and caring for public lands to celebrate the 30th Annual National Public Lands Day, September 27.
Drawing of an African American Civil War soldier with others in a frontier town.
Born into Slavery & Forged in the Fires of War
Fort Scott National Historic Site is hosting author, historical researcher, and Civil War reenactor Calvin L. Osborne on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 2 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the East Infantry Barracks, where he will share an epic story of a once-enslaved man who fought for freedom, helped shape a nation, and unknowingly laid a foundation for generations to come.
199 New Citizens standing and taking their oath on the grassy parade ground.
Fort Scott National Historic Site to Host Special Naturalization Ceremony on Constitution/Citizenship Day Sept. 17
Media outlets and the general public are invited to Fort Scott National Historic Site on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, for a Special Naturalization Ceremony at the parade ground here.
Woman dressed in a blue and white checked dress and bonnet washing close with a bucket and wash board.
Labors and Leisure on the Frontier
Saturday, August 30, Fort Scott National Historic Site will take you on an exploration of the labors and leisure on an 1840s frontier post. Throughout Saturday, enjoy historic yard games, a variety of living history demonstrations, and interpretive programs as you explore the labors and leisure on the fort.
A field of sunflowers next to a stone building. Wood frame structures in background.
Photo by NPS Pnoto
Picture of the post hospital with the parade ground and trees in the background.
Photo by NPS Photo
Wood frame structures with stairs next to a stone walkway. Structures reflect afternoon sunlight.
Photo by NPS Photo
Four soldiers on horseback in a line riding through prairie grass.
Photo by NPS Photo/Michelle Martin
Women dressed as laundresses with laundry buckets and scrub boards stand on a stone porch.
Photo by NPS Photo
Picture of rows of flags across the parade ground with trees in the background.
Photo by NPS Photo: B. Boyko