Forts Randolph and Buhlow

Yesterday, my wife said that she wanted to go for a hike. After trying to decide where to go for several minutes, I asked if she wanted to go to Forts Randolph and Buhlow. She said she did, and being as I hadn't been there before (which is sad, because it's a relatively new state historic site less than 10 miles from NY house) we took off. Forts Randolph and Buhlow are 2 earthwork forts built in 1864 to watch Bailey's dam on Red River and prevent the Union forces from moving along the river. They were manned with approximately 800 men and artillery. These forts never saw action, and were abandoned at the close of the war. Not being a HUGE fan of the Civil War, I wasn't SUPER excited, but it was a very nice site, with a GREAT interpretive center. Their displays were very detailed, and their information was well-presented and accurate. I saw very few things that detracted from the overall appearance of the center (2 things, a draw-horse built out of modern lumber, and an electric 'fire' in one of the displays. I would have just made a fire-lay with some semi-charred wood, instead of the electric fire, and the modern wood draw-horse... well, they had a correct one in the museum, too, so I'd just get rid or it!), and they probably wouldn't bother anyone that wasn't a bit of a stickler for historical accuracy. They have 2 walking trails that each go around a fort. We walked the Randolph trail, and you can still see parts of the earthwork walls and the ditch in front of the fort. Sadly, the Buhlow trail was closed due to construction. Interestingly, the site of the forts was also the site of the Post Des Rapides, a French supply post in the mid 1700's. Speaking with the docent, he advised that they may try to get a quarterly interpretation of 1700's life to represent the Post Des Rapides life. If they get it off the ground, I'll have somewhere close to go a few times a year, which would be awesome.