Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fort Laramie National Historic Site | |
---|---|
Location | Goshen County, Wyoming, USA |
Nearest city | Torrington, Wyoming |
Coordinates | 42°12′33″N 104°32′9.1″W / 42.20917°N 104.535861°W |
Area | 833 acres (337 ha) |
Established | March 4, 1931 |
Visitors | 46,455 (in 2005) |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | Fort Laramie National Historic Site |
Fort Laramie National Historic Site | |
Nearest city | Fort Laramie, Wyoming |
Area | 536 acres (217 ha)[2] |
Built | 1834 |
Built by | US Army Corps of Engineers |
Architect | US Army Corps of Engineers |
Architectural style | Lime grout construction |
NRHP reference No. | 66000755[1] |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Fort Laramie (
Fort William was founded by William Sublette and his partner Robert Campbell in 1834. In the spring of 1835, Sublette sold the fort to Thomas Fitzpatrick, a local fur trader. After a rendezvous in 1836, it was sold to the American Fur Company, which still had a virtual monopoly on the western fur trade. Starting as early as the fall of 1840, the American Fur Company began competing with the newly-established Fort Platte, built by Lancaster Lupton about a mile away from Fort William.
The American Fur Company hired workers from Santa Fe to construct an adobe fort to replace Fort William. This fort was named Fort John, after John Sarpy, a partner in the company. In 1849, the U.S. Army purchased the fort as a post to protect the many
The remaining structures are preserved as the Fort Laramie National Historic Site by the National Park Service.
History
Name
In 1815 or 1816,
The fur trade
The original fort was constructed in the 1830s, probably in 1833–1834 by William Sublette and Robert Campbell. The overland fur trade was still prosperous, when Jim Bridger and Tom Fitzpatrick bought the place.[5][6]
The fort was located near the confluence of two rivers, so it commanded a broad plain with water on two sides; these formed a partial natural moat. In addition, the nearby confluence of the North Platte's waters had a ford easily used by travelers on what later became the northern overland
One of the early principal owner-trappers was William Sublette, and the fort was called Fort William[7] before being sold to the American Fur Company in 1841. (John Jacob Astor, the founder, had left his company a decade before.) The name was changed to Fort John after John Sarpy, a partner in the company.[8] The 1846 treaties established relatively stable western territories after viable routes west had become well published. By the time the westward migration along the Oregon Trail had markedly increased, the U.S. Army had become tenants in the fort as well. The fort was located along the Laramie River just south of its mouth onto the North Platte River.
On the opposite bank, the town of
In 1845, the nearby
Frontier army post
The fort was purchased from Bruce Husband, a member of the American Fur Company, for $4,000 in June 1849 by
By 1849, gold seekers had joined the Oregon-bound settlers and Mormons heading to Utah, and westward travelers were estimated to number between 20,000 and 40,000 in 1849. The fort itself occupied a location where the westward trail diverged in the direction of either Oregon, Salt Lake City or California. Based on contemporary accounts travelers would remain at the fort several days to mail letters, exchange or purchase cattle, replenish their provisions and reset wagon tires.[10]
The fort was taken over by the Army largely to protect and supply emigrants along the emigrant trails. In 1851, the first
Fort Laramie was never seriously threatened by Indian attacks during the quarter-century of intermittent warfare sparked by the Grattan massacre. However, a number of civilians were killed in the immediate area and their property destroyed or stolen during this period of hostilities on the plains. The last known death occurred in March 1877 on the Big Bitter Cottonwood Creek.[11]
The earliest surviving photograph of Fort Laramie, taken in 1858 by Samuel C. Mills, shows the remains of the old adobe walled fur trade fort (Fort John) flanked by a cluster of scattered wood and adobe buildings around the parade grounds.
Architecture
After Fort Laramie was purchased by the military on June 26, 1849, numerous buildings were constructed in the following years. As construction began many different factors were hindering progress. Amongst these issues included a lack of laborers, the cold winters, lack of water, and a limited supply of wood and stone in the surrounding area. One solution to these issues was the use of adobe bricks in building. Adobe bricks were a cheaper material that could provide needed insulation in the cold climate. Alongside adobe bricks, many buildings are made using concrete and some wood use as well. This use of multiple building materials gives Fort Laramie a unique aesthetic[12]
Built in 1849, Old Bedlam is the oldest known U.S. military structure in Wyoming and Fort Laramie's most commonly noted building. Old Bedlam served as the original officer quarters for Fort Laramie. It was used by officers of various rank and marital status, since no other housing was yet available. Old Bedlam offered very little privacy utilizing public kitchen areas and soldiers often sharing rooms. In 1881 Old Bedlam was turned into a duplex.[13]
Also originally built in 1849 was the Post Traders store. This store provided supplies for all sorts of people including the Army, Native Americans, and pioneers traveling west. Throughout the years the fort was running, numerous additions were added to the Post Traders store and complex. In 1852 the northern section was built from stone, this became the store headquarters. Additions were made again in 1883 to serve as a bar and officers club housing.[13]
The First Hospital in Fort Laramie was built from adobe bricks with a log roof in 1856. It had two rooms with eight beds each. The First Hospital was expanded in 1858 with an additional room, kitchen, dinning, and laundry area. Then in 1871 a new hospital was built in Fort Laramie originally based on a military standardized hospital plan. The first wing of this hospital was completed in 1873-1874 but the original plans were never finished. Porches were added around the building to help with the harsh weather.[14]
Over the years Fort Laramie was operational, several more buildings were built for housing. Firstly, The Captains Quarters were built from 1868-1870. The plans for the Captains Quarters were altered midway through construction, resulting in a duplex with a thin staircase. Next, was the construction of the Cavalry Barracks in 1872-1874. This two story building is the only barracks left at Fort Laramie. The Cavalry Barracks had two large rooms on the second floor, each would hold roughly 60 men. Another quarters, known as the Post Surgeon quarters was finished in 1875 and lived in for the next 15 years by the surgeon and his family. The post surgeon quarters have been reconstructed to resemble the 1880's. Following this was the construction of the Lt. Col. Quarters known as Burt House in 1884. Made with lime grout concrete, Burt House was intended for the Lt. Col. and his family. Burt House is currently restored to 1887-1888 when Lt. Col. Andrew Burt and his family lived there.[13]
Fort Laramie also has two surviving guardhouses. The Old Guardhouse, built in 1866, was the second guardhouse in Fort Laramie. This building usually had guards on duty for 24 hours a day, and could hold up to 40 prisoners in the lower level. The New Guardhouse was built to relieve the Old Guardhouse from overcrowding in 1876.[13]
Many ruins of old structures are present at Fort Laramie Historic Site, with the remaining structures making up only a third of the buildings that were once at Fort Laramie.[13]
Civil War, 1861–1865
With the outbreak of the
Bozeman War, 1866–1868
On Christmas night in 1866, John "Portuguese" Phillips ended his historic horseback ride at Fort Laramie after riding 236 miles (380 km) from the Powder River Country. His entire unit had been killed in a fight with the Sioux under Red Cloud, and he had ridden to get reinforcements for Fort Phil Kearny. Legend maintains that Phillips' thoroughbred horse dropped dead upon arriving at the fort; it is unclear whether Phillips kept the same mount for the entire ride. Phillips crossed hostile Indian country, and had to make most of the journey during a brutal Wyoming blizzard.
In the late 1860s, the fort was the primary staging ground for the United States in the Powder River Country during Red Cloud's War. In 1868 the parties reached a peace agreement codified as the second Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Great Sioux War of 1876–1877
The discovery of gold in the Black Hills touched off another period of conflict with the
Final years
After the completion of the
In March 1890, about 30 cavalry soldiers and civilian mechanics under the command of Lt. C. W. Taylor arrived at the fort and removed doors, windows, flooring, and any other material from the buildings that was thought to be of value to the government. The last soldiers left Fort Laramie on April 20, 1890. All but one of the structures were sold at auction to private citizens. The entire military reservation, which was nine miles long and six miles wide, was opened up to homesteaders for settlement on October 5, 1891.[15]
Historic district
In a 1983 document, the National Park Service describes a 536-acre historic district within the larger national historic site containing all of the historic structures, buildings, ruins, and sites, as well as a separate area containing a bridge. The NPS identified 36 significant physical remains that provide the background for the events and the people associated with Fort Laramie. These included 13 standing buildings, 11 standing ruins, and several buildings where only the foundations remain.[2]
In popular culture
Radio
- In the 1950s, a fictionalized account of life at the fort during the 19th century was depicted in the CBS radio program Fort Laramie.
Film
- In the movie 6th U.S. Cavalry.
- The fort is central to a number of chapters in James A. Michener’s novel Centennial and the later miniseries.
- The fort is also featured in Taylor Sheridan’s fictional depiction of Oregon Trail migration, 1883, which served as a prequel to Yellowstone.
Games
- Fort Laramie is one of several stops in The Oregon Trail (1971-) computer game series.
- Fort Laramie was an ally of Chayton Black in the mission "The Bozeman Trail" in Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs (2006), an expansion pack to Age of Empires III(2005).
See also
- Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch, the fort's off-post social center
- List of the oldest buildings in Wyoming
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Tami Canaday (September 15, 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Fort Laramie National Historic Site" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-06. Two photos (1976) and 50 photos (1983)
- ISBN 0-7884-3804-2.
- ^ L. G. Flannery (1928), A Short History of Old Fort Laramie, incorporated in The Diaries of John Hunton, Made to Last, Written to Last, Sagas of the Western Frontier, edited by Michael Griske (2005), Maryland: Heritage Books
- ^ ISBN 978-0803257207.
- ISBN 978-1589760523.
- ^ a b Griske, op. cit., p. 55
- ^ "Fort John". Wyoming Places Wiki.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 978-0-252-06360-2.
- ^ Hogland, Alison K. Army Architecture in the West: Forts Laramie, Bridger and D.A. Russell, 1849–1912. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 13.
- ^ Griske, op. cit., pp. 55, 63
- ^ Murray, Robert (1974). Fort Laramie "Visions Of A Grand Past". Fort Collins, Colorado: The Old Army Press.
- ^ a b c d e Wayland, Andrew (2018). "Fort Laramie: A Historic Guide to the West Historic Buildings Guide". ProQuest: 29–38 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Hoagland, Alison (1998). ""The Invariable Model": Standardization and Military Architecture in Wyoming, 1860-1890". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 57 (3): 298–315 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Griske, op. cit., pp. 56, 57
External links
- "Fort Laramie National Historic Site". National Park Service.
- "Fort Laramie National Historic Site". Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- Fort Laramie Digital Media Archive Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine with creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas and virtual tours using data from a National Park Service/CyArk research partnership
- Fort Laramie, Administration Building, Fort Laramie, Goshen, WY at the