Fort Laramie: The Crossroads of the American Frontier
- RV Miles Editors
- Mar 25
- 9 min read
By Lizzie Tesch
Between avoiding snakebites and fending off the dreaded dysentery, fans of the popular game “The Oregon Trail” are sure to be familiar with Fort Laramie. Situated roughly a quarter of the way through the historic trek from Independence, Missouri to the Willamette Valley in modern-day Oregon, the Fort began as a fur trading post, served as a critical juncture for emigrants heading west, and eventually became one of the largest military posts on the Northern Plains. Before its abandonment in 1890, Fort Laramie would also bear witness to sweeping expansion and the heated negotiations between American Indians and the United States Government that would ultimately define the American West.
While it would take more than 40 years for the National Park Service to induct the decommissioned fort into the park system, the history of Fort Laramie lives on thanks to efforts to reestablish and preserve the structures that remain. To tell the stories of the thousands who passed this spot at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers, Fort Laramie National Historic Site utilizes both traditional preservation methods and state-of-the-art technology to safeguard this important landmark for generations to come.
This is Fort Laramie National Historic Site, and the deep ruts of exploration and conflict left on the Wyoming frontier.
Despite drastically different motivations for heading west and a wealth of destinations scattered along the Pacific coast, there was one constant for the emigrants of the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails: the 250-mile stretch from Fort Laramie to South Pass. But long before settlers paused their journey at the military fort, rumblings of expansion were commonplace on the American plains.
At the start of the nineteenth century, the western border of the United States stretched only as far as the Mississippi River, a boundary that quickly changed with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Although the country nearly doubled in size, expanding past the Rocky Mountains, President Thomas Jefferson laid his sights on the remaining Oregon Country, which was still held by the British. Intent on establishing an undeniable American presence in what is now Oregon, Washington, and part of Idaho, the U.S. Government funded the historic expedition of Lewis and Clark, which would make it immediately apparent that an easier route west would be required before any hope of settling the territory could come to fruition.
The answer would be found in Wyoming in the form of South Pass and, to the east, a fur trading post that would ultimately serve as the preparation point for the crossing of the Continental Divide. Historically, the fur trade was dependent on beaver pelts, but well-known trappers William Sublette and Robert Campbell capitalized on the growing desire for buffalo robes by establishing Fort William at the juncture of the North Platte and Laramie rivers. Relying heavily on trade with the Native population, which would arrive each year to trade buffalo hides and other furs for manufactured goods, the small 100 by 80-foot post would provide the frontiersmen with a near monopoly on the buffalo trade until Fort Platte was built a mile away in 1841.
That same year, Fort William would be purchased by the American Fur Company and be renamed Fort John. The first group of American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to the Pacific would also arrive outside its gates, intent on taking advantage of the more gradual slope of South Pass instead of risking the higher, rockier terrain to the north.
The size of the earlier expeditions of The Oregon Trail would pale in comparison to those that would follow, with a second party consisting of over 100 emigrants passing Fort Laramie in 1842, and an estimated 700 to 1,000 leaving for Oregon Country as a part of the Great Migration of 1843. Ultimately, some 400,000 emigrants would make their way along the trail, although only around 80,000 would actually end in Oregon, with others scattering into Wyoming, Idaho, California, or Utah.
With each arriving wagon, it was clear that the earlier efforts of Thomas Jefferson to establish a presence in the Pacific Northwest were successful. The United States and Great Britain would officially sign the Treaty of Oregon in 1846, establishing the 49th parallel as the border between the US and what would eventually become Canada. But still, the travelers came.
Mormon leader Brigham Young would guide settlers seeking refuge from religious persecution west to the Salt Lake Valley beginning in 1846, establishing The Mormon Trail along a route that would eventually be traversed by more than 70,000 people. Likewise, when James Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada in 1848, it spurred a mass of pioneers eager to stake their claim in California, with more than 250,000 settlers crossing the country on the hunt for gold. In 1848 alone, more than 30,000 emigrants left for the promise of a new future in the West.
The journey itself was brutal and could take up to six months, with emigrants typically leaving in April or May to ensure arrival before winter. Leaving in the late spring also offered the security that ample grass would be available for oxen along the route, although weather could be sporadic, sometimes leaving settlers with dead, dusty trails or overgrown, muddy paths. Typically, travelers made the trek in parties of 25 or more family groups, with individuals walking alongside their 10 to 12-foot wagons packed with provisions and any belongings that could fit beneath the canvas cover.
The journey would begin along the Missouri River, passing Independence and Fort Kearny before arriving at Fort Laramie by mid-June and eventually continuing to reach Oregon or other destinations by mid-September. Only traveling 12 to 15 miles per day, the continuous threat of bad weather, river crossings, unforgiving terrain, and disease proved challenging.
Intent on providing both protection and supplies for the wealth of travelers, the U.S. Army purchased Fort John in 1849. Renamed Fort Laramie, it was a godsend for the weary travelers about to cross the Rocky Mountains, especially since most deaths from disease occurred early in the arduous journey. Numerous buildings were added after the establishment of the military base, many of which were constructed using adobe bricks, concrete, and lime grout, inexpensive building materials that offered additional insulation in the winter months.
The hodge-podge of buildings at the fort would include Old Bedlam, the oldest known U.S. Military structure and Officer quarters in Wyoming, a Post Traders store, which provided supplies for the Army, Native Americans and pioneers alike, a hospital with just two rooms and sixteen beds total, cavalry barracks, a bakery, a guardhouse, and a wealth of other buildings to adequately supply the passing population. In all, Fort Laramie offered refuge for travelers heading west. On the plains of Wyoming, they could mail letters, exchange with other emigrants, replenish provisions, and rest before continuing into the Rocky Mountains.
In addition to supplying those traveling along the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails, the establishment of Fort Laramie also provided an opportunity for a military presence on the plains. Calls for the negotiation of the right of passage through American Indian lands for westward-bound emigrants began as early as 1846. The hundreds of thousands traveling west left more than ruts in the ground, greatly impacting the available resources in constant competition with American Indians.
Travel along the trails only increased in the late 1840s, and U.S. Agent to Indian Affairs Thomas Fitzpatrick argued that holding a council between the U.S. Government and the Plains Tribes might significantly reduce the tension growing on both sides and eliminate any potential conflict. Congress would agree, authorizing a great treaty council in 1851 with Fort Laramie chosen as the meeting site. When more than 10,000 Plains Indians gathered to sign the treaty, the location was moved to nearby Horse Creek since the fort was unable to accommodate the incredible crowd - the largest gathering of Plains Nations in American history.
A wealth of difficulties preceded the council, including a lack of supplies, reduced funding, and a Congressional decision to cut the promised military escorts from 1000 to just 300, but the treaty was eventually signed on September 17, 1851. The Superintendant of Indian Affairs, David D. Mitchell, along with Thomas Fitzpatrick, joined 21 chiefs of the Indian Nations in signing the document, which would become known as the Horse Creek Treaty. It would outline the compensation promised to the Native tribes in exchange for the safe and free passage of settlers heading west on the emigrant trails. It also gave the U.S. Government the right to “form roads and establish military posts” throughout Indian territory and defined terms for maintaining peace on both sides for a period of 50 years.
Days of celebrations followed with the long-awaited arrival of supply wagons containing gifts for those in attendance, but the festivities were short-lived, and the treaty did not maintain peace for long. Congress, without the agreement of the Indian Nations, reduced the terms to 10 years, and growing traffic along the trails increased the existing friction between settlers and Native populations. Provisions promised to Native tribes were frequently late or missed entirely, heightening tensions further until a dispute over a sick cow resulted in the death of Sioux Chief Conquering Bear, 2nd Lieutenant John Grattan, his drunken interpreter, and all 29 of his soldiers.
The incident, which occurred in August of 1854, would spark a period of unrest on the plains between the Indian Nations and the U.S. Government. The creation of a shortcut from North Platte to the gold fields of Montana, the Bozeman Trail, continued to fuel the war raging in Wyoming despite the ongoing Civil War in the Southeastern United States. Skirmishes, raids, and attacks on both sides became commonplace until a new treaty was finally agreed upon at Fort Laramie in 1868.
This new agreement would set aside a reservation for the Sioux in what is now South Dakota, but the portion of land reserved was drastically smaller than what had been outlined in the previous treaty of 1851, and the document would spare few words on this relocation to the Black Hills. Instead, the majority of the second treaty outlined farming opportunities for Native Americans, with promises of land ownership accompanied by assurances of citizenship, seeds, tools, oxen, and advice. While the Treaty of Fort Laramie would be signed in the spring of 1868, bringing a temporary period of peace to the plains, the U.S. Government would break the agreement in 1877, resulting in lasting disputes and further conflict in the North.
Fort Laramie itself would diminish in importance with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, carrying travelers across the country via rail instead of along dusty paths. As the wagon trains disappeared, tensions on the plains subsided, and the fur trade diminished entirely, there was little need for a military presence or trading post amid Wyoming, and Fort Laramie was decommissioned in 1890, although preservation of the Fort and the history of all who passed through it has always been an important consideration.
The first monument commemorating Fort Laramie was created in 1913, but by 1936 there were calls to designate the location as a part of the National Park Service. Franklin Roosevelt would hear their call and declare Fort Laramie a National Monument in 1938. Later redesignated as a National Historic Site in 1960, preservationists have been hard at work since, restoring buildings using traditional methods and materials that would have been used in original construction.
The buildings at Fort Laramie present specific challenges in this process since most were only designed to last 20 to 40 years. Although several have stood in the 130 years since their initial construction, they require constant maintenance. Since the closest source of timber was over 60 miles away, many of the original Army-era buildings were created using lime grout, which could easily be mixed with sand from the nearby Laramie River and local limestone. To continue efforts to maintain the historical integrity, much of the restoration work still utilizes sand from the river to maintain repairs, and twelve of the buildings have been restored for visitors to explore.
In addition, the National Park Service collaborated in 2009 with the Center of Preservation Research and technology company CyArk to produce highly detailed 3D imagery of the site. This data, obtained by utilizing remote sensing laser technology and photogrammetry, creates textured three-dimensional models, interpretive panoramas, and holograms to assist with the reconstruction and preservation of delicate buildings. It also offers a unique vantage point from which to consider what Fort Laramie may have looked like to the passing travelers of the 1850s, all without risk of further damage to the site.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site, located in Southeast Wyoming about 100 miles North of Cheyenne, is free to visitors and open year-round. A visitor center, which includes a variety of exhibits, a historical video, and a bookstore, is open daily with varying hours depending on the season, and interpretive talks are offered daily during the summer months. An audio tour is also available for download, which offers an option to tour the fort and its historic buildings at your own pace. A minimum of two hours is recommended to explore the Fort, which features a cluster of restored features dating back to 1849 and the remains of 21 other historic buildings.
For those interested in learning about the westward migration of the mid-1800s, Fort Laramie is just one of dozens of locations scattered along The Oregon National Historic Trail, which includes museums, landmarks, historic sites, churches, and even original segments of the trail, where ruts can still be seen imprinted in the ground.
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