• Fort Parade Ground and Officers Quarters as seen from Guardhouse

    Fort Scott

    National Historic Site Kansas

Your Day in Court

Land office squabbles often led to court cases.

Scene representing U.S. land office. Squabbles over land often led to court cases

NPS Photo

This program will be a recreation of a trial that actually took place at Fort Scott in early 1858 regarding a land squabble. Disputes over land were common especially between pro and antislavery settlers. In this program, students take the roles of judge, attorneys, witnesses, and jurors as they try the case of Southwood vs. Stone.

 

Download Program Resources



Pre Visit Instructions



Theme, Goals, and Objectives



The script is not posted online, because students who are jurors should not see the script before hand.

Did You Know?

African American, American Indian, and white soldiers trained at Fort Scott.

Soldiers at Fort Scott formed the first "rainbow coalition" during the Civil War. African American, American Indian, and Euro American soldiers fought in this area. Many, including the First Kansas Colored, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and elements of the  Indian Home Guard trained at Fort Scott.