fort osage

We lucked out. The fort was hosting a French Voyagers reenactment group in period customs. We really got a good idea for the way of life and customs of the time. The museum was excellent covering the times and influence the fort had.

They have rebuilt the Fort from old photos and writings and have tried to stay true to all the details. They have a new visitors center and the museum in the basement is a nice work in progress. They really did not have much information around to explain things and only 1 worker, in the visitors center who had little knowledge. The 1 guy in the Ft. seems pre occupied, so not much help with any questions you might have. Signs in and around the things would have helped, as would a guide book, etc. The gift shop had nothing. Honestly, the song from the old F Troop TV show kept going through my head. This place is a work in progress.

We took our kids for an afternoon. They loved it. Very nice staff and lots of the fort to tour. The education center was nice with many things to see. The view of the river was fantastic. But if u plan to picnic there's notwhere. You'll have to go back to the park down the road.

Visiting this fort gives a good picture of life on the frontier in the early 19th century from both the military and fur trading perspective. The fort is interesting to tour and the exhibits in the visitor center fill in the details of the story. It's quite in the middle of nowhere but close enough to Independence to be worth the trip.

We stopped at Fort Osage on a beautiful summer day. It's very interesting and I think the fact that it's out of the way and so it's not crowded made it much more enjoyable. The fort is fun to tour and easy to imagine how it looked during the days of Lewis and Clark. It's perched on a bluff above the Missouri River and you can see the river quite aways. It was quiet, and the storekeeper was very knowledgeable and informative about living in the fort in those days. You can enter several of the buildings and see how they lived there. It's clean and easy to get around the fort. The museum inside is quite interesting and I think children would enjoy a day there. It was nice to sit and listen to the breeze and watch the river. It's quite out-of-the-way, but worth the trip!!!

Spent 2 hours on a free afternoon at Fort Osage. This was quite inexpensive, interesting. The fort itself is fun to tour plus there is a museum in the education building. The place was clean and well planned out. The staff was courteous and well informed. The gentleman in the "factory" was quite informative and entertaining especially for the young people. If you are in the KC area its a must visit.

Fort Osage is out in the middle of nowhere but worth the drive for the history buff. You can tour the museum that has artifacts from the fort and Native Americans. The relationship with the local Indians plays a large part as to why this fort was a success. The rebuilt fort is a wonderful history lesson. Make sure to find out what the factory was and listen to the historian tell the tales of what life was like in the fort. Oh yeah... don't forget to see the "pit" that soldiers were kept in for a prison. The kids think that is pretty cool. You can even climb down and see a ball and chain down there.

Old fort right on the Missouri river. Nicely kept and restored. Old barricks and cannons. The kids will LOVE it!

Louis and Clark trail history. I took my daughter there, for a project she was writting. The staff were in period clothing. They spent time, with her, let her dress up, and get involved. Gave a good example of life then.

This is a great place to experience the frontier as the early settlers did. Interesting exhibits and artifacts. Plan to stay awhile.

our family has visited the fort on many occasions and we plan to return. it is always relaxing as we let our imaginations step back in time.

While we enjoyed our visit to Fort Osage, we did feel the price was a bit high ($7 for adults and $4 for children over 5.) for the amount of time we spent there. We opted not to watch the 20 minute DVD presentation on the history of the fort but rather went right to checking out the buildings. Be prepared to climb up and down steps to see everything in the buildings. We were a little put off by the 8-10 wasps swarming around almost every building but we were told that they were mud daubers and would not sting us. Of the fort buildings, our favorite was the trading post. The guide in the trading post was very friendly, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. The fort itself didn't take us very long to explore. We spent perhaps 30 minutes checking the buildings out and that was with checking out the upstairs and/or downstairs in every one. A tip would be not to schedule this trip for a very hot day as you will be walking around outside and even on a mild day like we had on our visit, the inside of the buildings is rather warm. I imagine the inside of the buildings would be sweltering on a typical Missouri midsummer day.I was quite a bit more impressed with the Fort Osage Education Center than I was the actual Fort. It may have been the absence of the wasps combined with the air conditioning but the exhibits in the center are not to be missed! Make sure to go downstairs and view all the exhibits relating to Lewis and Clark, the Osage Indians, Missouri River life, and the Hopewell Indians to name a few. You can also access the outside from the downstairs for an interesting exhibit about the river and its sustainability. We spent perhaps an hour in this area. These exhibits also contain small crayon rubbing activities and other hands on things to keep younger children entertained although I would strongly suggest this outing more for school-aged children. The education center does contain a vending machine for drinks, bathrooms, and a small gift shop area as well as an elevator to access the basement exhibits. Parking is free at Fort Osage.If you are going to be in the area, this would be worth checking out but I am not sure it would warrant a special out of the way trip unless you are a huge history buff (If you are a history buff, don’t miss the historic cemetery next door !). It may be worth trying a visit when they have a special event. However, I feel that for families with younger children this should be an alternative activity in your itinerary rather than a first choice.

hoping to go this year with all the new updates. it makes you think how could I do this back in that time. the hole family loves it. I grew up close to it and am proud to teach my other family members of it's great history.

This is excellent if you can go during one of their "festivals". People come from all over and work the buildings and camp out, kind of like a renannasiance festival, but not as big. Other times I have been there It was a little dull, as it pretty small, when nothing is going on there. I don't think they offer tours, not really sure, but I know they do tours during festivals, it is really interesting.

Great historic site of an old Missouri fur-trapping and Army fort.