Fort D moves closer to national recognition

Local treasured landmark Fort D is closer to being added to the National Register of Historic Places.

This is good news for those who value culture and history. The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has approved the application, meaning the increased likelihood of national registry status.

Civil War re-enactor Scott House, long involved in efforts to preserve the site at 920 Fort St., spent a year researching and writing the bulk of the application.

The site is one of four forts built by the Union Army to protect Cape Girardeau, and the only surviving earthworks of all the forts that were built to protect Missouri's major cities, according to reporting by Mark Bliss. The fort also has ties to John Wesley Powell, who later became famous as an explorer, but was assigned by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to finish fortifications to protect Cape Girardeau. Powell used his experience in engineering and mapping in Cape Girardeau as a steppingstone to his later more famous adventures.

Having Fort D nationally recognized as historically significant is a big deal. Not only does it give the place more status, but can also help as a way to secure funding for preservation efforts.

If you've not visited Fort D, we encourage you to go and connect with a place that protected our city in the Civil War.