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OLD FORT MADISONPRESERVATION

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Plan your visit to Old Fort Madison

A living-history site on the Mississippi riverfront, with guided tours, reenactments, and education programs. Here is everything you need to make the trip.

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See the fort

Meet Old Fort Madison

Start with a drone flight over the river and the fort, then take a short tour of the riverfront site where it stands.

Video by Terence Gordon

Closed for revitalization

Old Fort Madison is closed during the rebuild, except July 4 from noon to 4 pm after the Charlie Korschgen Parade, after the Rodeo Parade, and by appointment. Call 319-470-3642 to arrange a visit.

Request a special event or group visit

Hours

Visiting status

Closed for revitalization

Old Fort Madison is closed for revitalization, except July 4 from noon to 4 pm after the Charlie Korschgen Parade, after the Rodeo Parade from noon to 5 pm, and by appointment until the project is complete and open to the public.

For appointments, call 319-470-3642.

Full hours and admission

Location

On the riverfront

716 Riverview Dr.
Fort Madison, IA 52627

The fort sits on the Mississippi riverfront in downtown Fort Madison, Iowa, near the Lee County line in the far southeast corner of the state.

Directions and parking

Questions

Call ahead

Planning a group, booking a tour, or checking on a special event? We are glad to help you sort out the details before you come.

319-470-3642

Contact the fort

What to expect

A short walk through two centuries

Old Fort Madison is a place to slow down, look closely, and hear the story told in person.

Walk the reconstructed fort

See the five-cornered plan, the blockhouses, and the barracks rebuilt close to the original site, with interpreters on hand to explain how soldiers lived and defended it.

Stand on the riverfront

The fort sits on the bank of the Mississippi, the same waterway that supplied the garrison in 1808 and carried the soldiers away when they abandoned the post in 1813.

Plan for about an hour

Most visitors spend an hour or so on the grounds. Reenactment weekends and special events run longer and draw a crowd, so arrive early when one is on the calendar.

Visitor information

Everything you need to plan the trip