Press releases

Old Fort Madison Preservation, Inc. has opened its summer living-history season at the reconstructed fort on the Mississippi riverfront. Visitors can take guided tours, watch reenactments, and learn how soldiers and their families lived on the early frontier.

Programs run through the summer season, with school and group tours available by arrangement. Details on hours, directions, and accessibility are available on the organization's website.

The season opens as construction continues on the new Welcome Center/Living History Center, which will allow the site to operate year-round once complete.

Old Fort Madison Preservation, Inc. has broken ground on a new Welcome Center/Living History Center, the centerpiece of its $3.5 million capital campaign. The building will give the riverfront historic site a year-round home for tours, school programs, exhibits, and community gatherings.

Old Fort Madison preserves and interprets the first permanent United States military post on the Upper Mississippi River, established in 1808. The fort played a part in the War of 1812 and was abandoned and burned by its garrison in 1813. Archaeological work in 1965 relocated the site, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Construction is expected to continue through the year, with the Welcome Center/Living History Center opening for the following visitor season. The organization reports campaign progress publicly and welcomes gifts, memberships, and sponsorships from the community.