Fort Snelling Fort Snelling , originally known as Fort Saint Anthony , was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County , Minnesota . Mississippi National River and Recreation Area , a National Park Service unit , includes historic Fort Snelling . Fort Snelling also refers to an unorganized territory in Hennepin County , Minnesota , containing the former fortification . The Census in 2000 enumerated a total population of 442 . The Minnesota Historical Society now runs the fort , located atop a bluff along the river . Minnesota Department of Natural Resources runs Fort Snelling State Park , protecting the land at the bottom of the bluff . Fort Snelling once encompassed both parcels . History . Origins . Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1805 acquired Pike ' s Purchase , 100 , 000 acres ( 400 km² ) of land in the area . Significant settlement began in the late 1810s . Following the War of 1812 , the federal War Department built a chain of forts and installed Indian agents between Lake Michigan and the Missouri River . These forts primarily protected the northwestern territories from Canadian and British encroachment . The Army founded Fort Saint Anthony in 1819 . Colonel Josiah Snelling commanded the 5th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) . Its soldiers constructed the original Fort Saint Anthony from 1820 to 1824 . During construction , most soldiers lived at Camp Coldwater , which provided drinking water to the fort throughout the 19th century . The post surgeon began recording meteorological observations at Fort Saint Anthony in January 1820 , beginning one of the longest near - continuous weather records in the country . Upon its completion in 1825 , the Army renamed the fort as " ' Fort Snelling " in honor of its commander and architect . Frontier post . The soldiers at the northwestern frontier outposts denied persons other than citizens of United States of America commercial use of the rivers , kept American Indian lands free of white settlement until treaties permitted it , enforced law and order , and protected legitimate travelers and traders . [ citation needed ] At Fort Snelling , the garrison also attempted to keep the peace between the Ojibwe and Sioux ( Dakota ) people . Colonel Snelling suffered from chronic dysentery , and bouts of the illness made him susceptible to anger . Recalled to Washington , he left Fort Snelling in September 1827 . Colonel Snelling died in summer 1828 from complications due to dysentery and a " brain fever . " In 1830 Fort Snelling was the birth place of the famous Confederate lieutenant John Taylor Wood who was the first white child born in Minnesota . Wood served on board the famous " Merrimack " at the Battle of Hampton Roads . John Emerson purchased the slave Dred Scott in Saint Louis , Missouri , but he later worked at Fort Snelling and lived at the fort with Dred and Harriet Scott during much of the 1830s . Missouri Compromise then made slavery illegal in Minnesota Territory . Life of Dred Scott in Minnesota led to the infamous United States Supreme court case " Dred Scott v . Sandford " . The establishment and population of towns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota diminished the need for a forward frontier military post in the region . The Army sold Fort Snelling to Franklin Steele in 1858 for $ 90 , 000 . ( Fortunately for Steele , the deal included 8000 acres ( 32 km² ) later annexed into south Minneapolis . ) Civil War and afterwards . During the American Civil War , however , Franklin Steele leased Fort Snelling back to the War Department for use as an induction station , where over 24 , 000 recruits from Minnesota were trained . During the Dakota War of 1862 it was used as a concentration camp , where hundreds of Dakota women , children , and elders were held captive on the river flats below the fort through the winter of 1862 - 63 . After the war , Steele leased the land around Fort Snelling to settlers , and Minneapolis began to expand into the fort ' s surroundings . United States Army regulars meanwhile returned to Fort Snelling . The fort dispatched forces to protect the interests of the colonizers on the frontier from the Dakota people , west to the Rocky Mountains . Soldiers from Fort Snelling fought in the Indian Wars and the Spanish American War of 1898 . Through World War II , the War Department chose Fort Snelling as the location for the Military Intelligence Service Language School to teach the Japanese language to Army personnel . The War Department constructed scores of buildings for housing and teaching , and the school processed three hundred thousand soldiers . < br > Second decommissioning . The War Department decommissioned Fort Snelling on 12 October 1946 , and various federal agencies took parcels from the grounds of the old fort . The majority of the structures fell into disrepair . In 1960 , it was listed as a National Historic Landmark . Fort Snelling nevertheless continued to serve as headquarters of United States Army Reserve 205th Infantry Brigade comprised three light infantry battalions and attached field artillery , cavalry , air defense artillery , combat engineers , and supporting logistics units throughout the Upper Midwest . The Defense Department deactivated this role in 1994 as a part of force - structure eliminations . Over the decades , the Army interred many deceased Minnesotan soldiers and other members of the United States Armed Forces at Fort Snelling National Cemetery . Some military facilities continue to operate around old Fort Snelling . The Minnesota Historical Society meanwhile converted the area of the original walled fort into an educational establishment , rebuilt to resemble its original appearance , and staffed during the spring , summer and early fall with costumed personnel interpreting life at the early post . Although restoring and re - creating the original fort assures its survival as a historical artifact for the foreseeable future , many briefly used buildings of the fort gradually fell into serious disrepair and neglect . In May 2006 , National Trust for Historic Preservation added Upper Post of Fort Snelling to its list of " America ' s Most Endangered Places . " Some restoration on historic Fort Snelling , however , continues underway : crews removed the flagpole from the iconic round tower and will placed it in the ground , a change since its opening as a historic fort . The United States Navy named an amphibious warfare ship USS Fort Snelling ( LSD - 30 ) to honor the fort . Geography . The fort is located on Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory , an unincorporated area and division of Hennepin County lying just east of the city of Richfield . It is also adjacent to the cities of Minneapolis , Bloomington , Saint Paul ( across the Mississippi River ) , and Mendota Heights ( across the Minnesota River ) . The fort is located at the eastern end of the territory , near the confluence of the Mississippi River with the Minnesota River . Fort Snelling unorganized territory contains numerous military and other federal facilities . These facilities include historic Fort Snelling , its cemetery , and the Minneapolis Veterans Health Administration Medical Center . Minneapolis – St . Paul International Airport , however , includes most of the land area of the unorganized territory . According to the United States Census Bureau , this unorganized territory has a total area of 17 . 2 km² ( 6 . 7 mi² ) . 16 . 5 km² ( 6 . 4 mi² ) of it is land and 0 . 8 km² ( 0 . 3 mi² ) of it is water . < br > Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , 442 people reside in the unorganized territory . The population density is 26 . 8 / km² ( 69 . 5 / mi² ) . The racial makeup of the unorganized territory is 94 . 57 % White , 3 . 62 % Black or African American , 1 . 36 % Native American , 0 . 00 % Asian , 0 . 23 % Pacific Islander , and 0 . 23 % of other races . 0 . 45 % of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race . The population is spread out with 4 . 5 % from 25 to 44 , 33 . 0 % from 45 to 64 , and 62 . 4 % who are 65 years of age or older . The median age is 69 years . Males had a median income of $ 43 , 558 versus $ 0 for females . The per capita income is $ 24 , 328 . None of the population is below the poverty line . Airport and economy . Delta Air Lines Building C is located on the property of Minneapolis – St . Paul International Airport and in Fort Snelling . Delta uses it for northern and regional operations . In 2009 , as Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines merged , Delta removed all employees from Building A , the previous headquarters of Northwest in Eagan , and all employees who remained in the Minneapolis were moved to Building C , which was renovated . Facilities within the building include the Compass Airlines corporate headquarters , which moved there on December 16 , 2009 . the Regional Elite Airline Services headquarters , and Delta SkyBonus offices . Prior to its disestablishment , Republic Airlines ( 1979 - 1986 ) had its headquarters in Building C . At one time Mesaba Airlines had its headquarters in the Fort Snelling UT . At one time MAIR Holdings had its headquarters in the UT .