A field of sunflowers adds a splash of color to a view of the parade ground at Fort Scott.
Photo: NPS Pnoto
About
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.
Activities
Guided ToursLiving HistoryHistoric Weapons DemonstrationJunior Ranger ProgramPark FilmMuseum ExhibitsShoppingBookstore and Park Store
Directions
Fort Scott National Historic Site is located in downtown Fort Scott, Kansas. U.S. Highways 69 and 54 intersect here. Fort Scott is about 90 miles south of Kansas City and 60 miles northwest of Joplin, Missouri. It is 4 miles from the Kansas-Missouri border. Signs directing visitors to Fort Scott are posted on Highway 69 for visitors coming from the north and the south and on Highway 54 for visitors coming from the east and the west.
Get directions →Weather
Spring and autumn are pleasant with mild temperatures. Summers are generally hot and humid, while winters are mild with periods of cold weather, snowfall, and ice storms. Thunderstorms, some severe, are common throughout the spring and summer. During periods of severe weather, visitors should seek shelter, as the area is prone to lightning strikes. Visitors are advised to check the weather prior to traveling.
News
Oct 12, 2026
Murder and Mayhem at the Fort
Fort Scott National Historic Site will offer four special candle lantern tours on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, as part of its Murder and Mayhem at the Fort program. Tour leaders will share lesser-known stories of tragedy and macabre events from Fort Scott’s 19th century history, focusing on the 1840s through the 1860s.
Aug 31, 2026
Fort Scott National Historic Site to Host Special Naturalization Ceremony on September 16
Media outlets and the general public are invited to Fort Scott National Historic Site on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, for a Special Naturalization Ceremony at the fort’s parade ground. Check-in for ceremony participants begins at 9:30 a.m. and the ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. The Honorable Holly L. Teeter, United States District Judge for the District of Kansas, is scheduled to preside.
Aug 31, 2026
Labors on the Frontier