Fort Laramie National Historic Site
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fort Laramie National Historic Site | |
|---|---|
  |
|
| Location | Goshen County, Wyoming, USA |
| Nearest city | Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 833 acres (3.37 km²) |
| Established | March 4, 1931 |
| Visitors | 46,455 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Fort Laramie National Historic Site, located in present-day Goshen County, Wyoming in the United States, was a significant 19th century trading post and later a military outpost of the United States Army. Founded in the 1830s during the fur trade, it was taken over by the Army in 1849 and emerged as one most important centers of white settlement in the American West. During the middle 19th century, it was a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail and was, along with Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River, the most significant economic hub of white commerce in the region. Many of the Army's military campaigns in the Indian Wars were conducted from the headquarters at the fort, and it gave its name to two treaties, the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) and the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868); each was an important agreement between whites and Native Americans regarding white settlement. Decommissioned and abandoned in August of 1889, the fort contains historic military structures on its grounds, which are operated by the National Park Service.
The fort is located along the lower Laramie River near its mouth on the North Platte River, across the river from the modern town of Fort Laramie in Goshen County, Wyoming. The Army took over the fort in the late 1840s largely to supply and protect emigrants along the Emigrant Trail. During the 1850s, relative peaceful relations between the whites and the Native Americans meant that the fort served mainly as a supply post. During the increasing strife of the 1860s, the fort took on a more military posture. 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. The resultant peace agreement was known as the Treaty of Fort Laramie. After the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the fort's importance decreased rapidly until it was decommissioned in 1903.
In the 1950s, a fictionalized account of life at the fort during the 19th century was depicted in the CBS radio program Fort Laramie.
To visit Fort Laramie, travel to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then drive via U.S. Route 87 northwards 82 miles to the intersection with U.S. Route 26, then turn right and drive 27 miles to the town of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Follow the well-marked gravel road two miles to the old Fort Laramie National Historic Site.
[edit] External links
- Official NPS website: Fort Laramie National Historic Site
|
||||||||||
