Name In 1815 or 1816,
Jacques La Ramee and a small group of fellow trappers settled in the area where Fort Laramie would later be located. He went out alone to trap in 1819 or 1820 and was never seen again.
Arapahoe Indians were accused of killing La Ramee and burying his body in a beaver dam. The river was named "Laramie" in his honor, and later settlers used this name for the
Laramie Mountains, the fort, and the towns of
Laramie, Wyoming and
Fort Laramie, Wyoming.
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. 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
emigrant trails following the North Platte River west from Nebraska. With the opening of the
Mormon Trail on the north bank of the Platte and North Platte, the fort was a junction for westbound travelers. It was an anchor roughly a quarter of the way to either California or Oregon on the famous Oregon Trail. To the west, the common trail leaving Fort John-Laramie later spins off to the Mormon and California trails further west along the road to the Rogue River Valley. The main trail passed northwest to Oregon's
Willamette Valley and
Oregon City. One of the early principal owner-trappers was
William Sublette, and the fort was called Fort William 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. 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 US 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. /
CyArk project is based on archaeological data, descriptions, and illustrations from the period when the Fort still stood. It shows the south and east facades of the high-walled Fort John. As a private trading post it was fortified chiefly to prevent theft of the valuable furs. The name Fort John fell into disuse following the military takeover of the Fort in 1849, and disappeared from records by 1860. On the opposite bank, the town of
Fort Laramie, developed (both were later renamed to match the river's eponym). Geographically, the site is situated just east of the steeper
foothills terrain to the west (sometimes called "High Plains") that ascends to the east side of the Rocky Mountains proper. This ascent was among the few roadways accessible by the wagons pioneers used to the west. It passed through the
continental divide and reached the west slopes of the Rockies along a network of river valleys connecting to the far west via
South Pass near the head waters of the North Platte. The strategic site on the eastern plains also had large grazing areas, where migrants could rest their draft animals before tackling the mountains. People could set up camps, do laundry, and heal before beginning anew the rigors of the westward trail. In 1845, the nearby
Fort Bernard was established about east, farther down the North Platte River, in hopes of getting some of the growing
Emigrant Trail trade with western bound wagon trains. This much smaller fort undersold the Laramie operation. It offered a connection south via a crude mule-train road to the
Santa Fe Trail via Colorado. Fort Bernard burnt down in 1866, and was never rebuilt. Only a few years later the
transcontinental railway joined the two American sea coasts and train travel largely replaced the overland travel along the Emigrant Trails.
Frontier army post . This year, gold was discovered at Cherry Creek near Denver, prompting the Colorado gold rush. Even at a distance of more than 200 miles (320 km) from Denver, Fort Laramie became one of these miners' major connections to the world back east. The fort was purchased from Bruce Husband, a member of the American Fur Company, for $4,000 in June 1849 by US Army Lt.
Daniel P. Woodbury on behalf of the
United States Government. Three companies of cavalry arrived at the fort that same month, and Company "G" (the 6th Infantry, the post's permanent garrison for many years) arrived on August 12, 1849. The fort was taken over by the Army largely to protect and supply emigrants along the emigrant trails. In 1851, the first
Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed, 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 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. 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. 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. The original abandonment order was issued in 1889, and four of the infantry companies stationed there at that time went to
Fort Logan, near Denver, Colorado that fall. 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. ==Historic district==