Two years after the army abandoned the fort , the buildings were sold by auction to civilians , with two being converted to hotels . In 1854 the Kansas @-@ Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 , which had kept slavery out of Kansas . Missourians in favor of slavery soon moved to Kansas to try to sway the vote of whether or not Kansas would permit slavery . Settlers from New England arrived equally determined to keep it out . Each of the two competing factions of the Bleeding Kansas conflict claimed one of the hotels at Fort Scott : Free @-@ Soil at the Fort Scott Hotel and Pro @-@ Slavery at the Western Hotel . Most of the residents in Fort Scott supported slavery , but those outside the town tended to the free @-@ soil side . During this time , it were local incidents of murder and attempted arson , typical elements of the guerrilla conflicts that were prevalent in the fighting .