Pop (2000): 8,297 Elev: 846 Located in the Southeast Region of the state, in Bourbon County and E of Iola. Driving? Find Fort Scott along US Hwy 69 near Fort Scott National Historic Site and Bourbon State Lake. Fort Scott is the County Seat.
Bourbon County Elected Officials
Fort Scott has a National Cemetery. Established in 1842 as a base for the Army's peace-keeping efforts along the "Permanent Indian Frontier." Soldiers provided armed escorts on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, surveyed unmapped country, and maintained contact with Plains Indians. Both infantry and dragoons played a major role in the Mexican War and the opening of the West As "Manifest Destiny" pushed settlement further westward, the Permanent Indian Frontier was swept aside. The post at Fort Scott was abandoned by the army in 1853 and the buildings were sold at public auction in 1855. The buildings then became the nucleus for the town of Fort Scott.