Fort Laramie

   Fort Laramie is a major piece of Wyoming's history from 1834 to 1890. Growing up in Newcastle, Wyoming I was only two hours away but finally stopped to check it out in 2011. A great experience and so much history there. Fort Laramie is mentioned in my books, but at the time it was called Fort William.

Fort William was founded by William Sublette in 1834. It began as a trading-post to service the overland fur trade. The American Fur Company purchased it in 1836. The company renamed it to Fort John after John Sarpy, a partner in the company. The fort traded with the Native Americans. Trading buffalo robes for a variety of goods. The buffalo robes were shipped east. As the supply of buffalo hides declined Fort John shifted its role. In 1841 the first of the west-bound emigrants arrived and they began trade with the travelers.

    In 1849 it was purchased by the U.S. Army to establish a military presence along the emigrant trails. The named changed to Fort Laramie. The fort would grow as stables, officers' and soldiers' quarters, a bakery, a guardhouse, and a powder magazine to support the fort garrison. There was also a sawmill though it suffered several fires. The fort would serve to protect the wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. 

The Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed in 1851. It was to keep peace between the whites and the Native Americans. In 1854 a small troop was killed during the Grattan Massacre. Though Fort Laramie was never attacked by the Native Americans several civilians were killed in the area and their property destroyed or stolen. The Great Sioux War in 1876 was set off when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. Fort Laramie was a staging point for supplies and soldiers during that time.

The fort continued to grow in size and importance. Fort Laramie was the principal military outpost on the Northern Plains. It became the primary hub for transportation and communication through the Rocky Mountain region as emigrant trails, stage lines, the Pony Express, and the transcontinental telegraph all passed through the post.

When the transcontinental railroad was finished, fewer wagons came through and the fort was deconmissioned in 1890. The army auctioned off the abandoned buildings and the area transformed into occupied homesteads. The homesteaders dismantled many of the buildings for their own use. In 1927 the state of Wyoming purchased 214 acres of the original fort to preserve the original fort site.

Many of the buildings have been rebuilt to replicate the original fort. However, a lot of the fort is nothing but old foundations.

  Stopping at Fort Laramie is a wonderful step back into history. It's also rumored to be haunted by the "Lady in Green." A good legend but that is a story for another day.