Untested Fort Juelson built 150 years ago

By Carol Stender

Fort Juelson was never tested in battle, but the ingenuity and pioneer spirit of those who built the sod structure draws visitors to the site, located two miles east of Underwood.

This year Underwood celebrates the fort’s 150th anniversary with a one-day celebration on June 26.

Delores Peterson, vice president of the Friends of Fort Juelson, calls the fort a “testament to the courage of those who constructed it.”

Hans Juelson. From the collections of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

It was made during a time fraught with tensions by settlers who feared an attack on their homes.

“The battle at the Little Big Horn in Montana had just happened. Word spread of Gen. George Custer’s defeat by Indian massacre and people took action,” she said.

St. Paul Pioneer Press headlines reported that there were “Indians at Pomme de Terre” and that “Depredations were reported in St. Olaf.” Another said “Fergus Falls Alive with Savages.”

Julius Hancke was one person spreading the alarm as he traveled from one farm to the next on horseback, notifying people in Tordenskjold Township near Underwood of a possible Indian attack.

Some people left their homes to move elsewhere. About 100 families in Grant County sought protection in Herman. About the same number traveled to Alexandria, only to be turned away as there had been no truth to the rumors.

But not everyone was aware that there were no further attacks. While some left, others planned to guard their homesteads.

Fort Juelson, located two miles east of Underwood, was a sod fort designed to protect settlers from any type of attack. The sod is gone, but the berms remain where the walls - four feet high and four feet wide - once stood. The fort was never used for its intended purpose, but the construction, under the guidance at the time of Civil War Veterans Hans Juelson and Berge Lee, is a testament to the ingenuity of the two. It is easy to see why the spot where the fort stood was picked. It is high and gives a great view of the area on all sides. Photo from the collections of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

Andrew and John Hoff rode on horseback to Fergus Falls seeking any news, but returned with none. That prompted a group of settlers to gather at Dolner’s Store (located near present day Sverdrup Church) to discuss a plan.

It was decided to build a fort.

Hans Juelson and Berge Lee, both Civil War veterans, were selected to find a site and supervise the construction of a fort.

The two chose a high point on a chain of hills located west of Underwood between Lee’s and Hancke’s farms. Hancke, who had a good team of horses, did most of the plowing of the land. The sod cut in the process was used in the fort’s construction.

Women and men of the area placed the sod in a pattern to create the walls of the structure. Juelson and Lee directed the workers to create the fort, measuring 120 feet by 100 feet with sod walls four feet thick and about four feet high. There was a cross wall through the center and a curtain or shield in front of the northwest entrance.

“There were a lot of unfortunate rumors around this time,” said recently retired Otter Tail County Historical Museum Director Chris Schuelke. “It’s interesting because the fort brought together all these patterns of history. There were reports as they were building the fort that they found human remains.”

Those remains were from native Americans who had lived in the area long before settlers came to Otter Tail County. They were reburied by the settlers.

The settlers worked hard on the structure, but left for the evening as the rumors had died down. They returned the next day to work on it again, according to newspaper accounts. A fence was built around the fort in part as added resistance from attack and also to protect the sod structure from cattle.

Civil War veterans called the structure “a more formidable earthworks than was seen in six months service in the Army of the Potomac with the exception of Yorktown and at the bay.”

It had to be tested to make sure the structure could withstand an attack. Enter Syrak Bjorge’s “bear gun.” The gun or rifle was homemade and constructed in Norway and now is on display at the Otter Tail County Historical Museum in Fergus Falls.

The site at Fort Juelson tells the story of how settlers, after the battle at the Little Big Horn and rumors that Indians were attacking, stayed to defend their homes. The spot was chosen for its vantage of the land. A sodbuster plow was used to prepare the land and sod for the walls. The blow is on display at the site along with a kiosk describing the events that prompted settlers to build the fort and also information on its unique construction. The area is mowed leading from the parking lot and information kiosk to the place where the fort was built. Fort Juelson celebrates its 150th year with a special event June 26. Photo from the collections of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

“It wasn’t a traditional fortification,” Schuelke said. “It was made from prairie sod. And it was tested with a bear gun. The bullet didn’t go through the wall.”

The fort’s location is one of the few pristine native grass and prairie grass section still left, he said.

“It’s kind of like an island,” Schuelke said. “I think it’s a place of contemporary history. We need places like that.”

There were, in the end, no Indian depredations anywhere in the state. A Fergus Falls Journal story gave insight to the Indians’ thoughts about the rumors.

“The Indians of Lake Traverse reservation told their agent they were sorry white people had so low of an opinion of them,” the article said. “White Earth Indians were found to be quietly pursuing their avocations. The Sissetons were all on the reservation.”

Juelson continued to use his leadership skills throughout his life. He served as a district county commissioner and for several terms as a county commissioner. He moved to Norman County and served as county commissioner there for nine years and, later, as a state legislator from Norman County.

Area residents who knew of the fort’s history took steps to preserve the spot. The American Legion George Bergem Post No. 409 put a flagpole at the site. A flag raising ceremony commemorating For Juelson took place in 1974. Friends of Fort Juelson formed in 2009 and a year later, Stanley Rudenske donated the land where the fort was located to Otter Tail County. The Otter Tail County Historical Society was awarded a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Legacy grant to conduct a geophysical and archeological evaluation of the site.

The site is open to the public with a kiosk of the site’s information alongside a small parking lot. The sod walls are gone, but the impressions of the walls and cross wall are visible.

To mark the site’s 150th anniversary, the Friends of Fort Juelson will have a program at the site on June 26, 2026.   There are different tours being offered with stops including The Foss Log Cabin, Bass Lake, Bicentennial Park, Underwood Veterans Memorial, and more.

To learn more about the upcoming event, to register for one of the tours or to learn more about the Friends of Fort Juelson, visit, ottertaillakescountry.com/place/friends-of-fort-juelson/