... forts in my area.  Here are shots from Ft Osage in MO  Ft Osage and Ft Scott in KS Guard House Window 

OK a bit of history is in order:  Ft Osage was built in 1806 and construction was started by Lewis and Clark (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Osage for more details).  It stands on a bluff about 100 feet above the Missouri River.  The buildings shown in the photo are reconstructions maintained by Jackson County Parks and Recreation Dept and does not include the entire palisade, 9 houses, a well and cistern that made up the final fort and was home to infantry.  As to the smoke stack, that's a coal-fired power station  Power Plant .  Nearby is three-span through truss railroad bridge that was built in 1887-88 that is still in use for freight and Amtrak.  Ft Scott on the other hand housed cavalry, is not a reconstruction, and is part of the US National Monument system.