Fort Laramie
| Fort Laramie National Historic Site | |||
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| Location: | Wyoming , United States | ||
| Next city: | Fort Laramie | ||
| Surface: | 3.369 km² | ||
| Founding: | 1938 | ||
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Fort Laramie is a former trading post and later an army fort at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte River in the southeastern US state of Wyoming near the city of Fort Laramie . The name goes back to a French trapper named Jacques La Ramee .
history
Fort Laramie was founded in 1834 by William Sublette and Robert Campbell as a private fur trading post . The then official name is passed down with Fort Williams and later also Fort John . The size of the fort is recorded at 80 feet by 100 feet. As an external fortification, felled poplars were used on site , which were connected to a palisade wall.
Fur trade
In 1836 Fort William was bought by the American Fur Company , an American fur company. During this time the fort established itself as one of the main trading centers for fur in the Rockys . Here fur traders and Indians met to exchange goods. Members of the Indian tribes of the Lakota , Cheyenne and Arapaho came here to exchange their skins for tobacco , whiskey and also simple household items.
From 1841, the trade in fur and pelts declined noticeably. Fort William was renamed Fort John . Fort John now became one of the most important bases for the settlers who were traveling west in their covered wagons on the Oregon Trail . Starting in 1847, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormons ) followed them en route to their own state, Deseret, and their city of Salt Lake City . With the California gold rush from 1849, gold prospectors and later settlers on the way to California took the largest share.
Army Fort
On June 26, 1849, Fort John was acquired by the American government for $ 4,000 and converted to a post in the United States Army . Fort John was renamed Fort Laramie . The main task of the army post was now to protect immigrants and settlers who were here on the Oregon Trail or California Trail from attacks by the Indians. Fort Laramie was expanded considerably, and several large buildings were built around a large roll call square.
The fort now developed not only as a safe haven for settlers on their way to the west, but also as a base on which important treaties were concluded with the Indian tribes who settled nearby.
- The most important of these are the Horse Creek Treaty , concluded in 1851 , under which the US government confirmed the Lakota territory without ceding land and committed itself to making annual payments and in return were allowed to build roads and military posts on Indian territory to protect the new settlers. With the passage of more and more settlers on the trails, there were also minor skirmishes with the Indians, which in 1854 turned into a military conflict.
- On November 6, 1868, the second Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed, in which the Lakota the entire area of what is now the US state of South Dakota west of the Missouri , including the Black Hills (from the northern border in Nebraska to the 46th parallel and from the Missouri in the east to the 104th meridian in the west) as Indian land for unrestricted and undisturbed use and settlement was guaranteed. This contract did not even last six years, because gold was found during an expedition in the Black Hills in 1874. Again there was conflict between American troops and Indians, which culminated in the Battle of Little Bighorn . All the details and guarantees stipulated in the contract in 1868 were no longer worth anything.
Sale and Expiry
With the opening of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the large settler trains ended and Fort Laramie had lost its original purpose. At the end of the 1870s, more and more settlers, ranchers and farmers settled in the area around Fort Laramie, and the settlement of the same name, Fort Laramie , emerged in the vicinity of the fort .
Fort Laramie lost more and more of its military importance and was given up from 1889 with the relocation of the four infantry companies stationed there to Fort Logan near Denver (Colorado) . In March 1890, the US Army removed all useful and usable material from Fort Laramie for further use. The last troops left Fort Laramie on April 20, 1890.
In 1890 the entire complex was auctioned off to private individuals. Many of the buildings were demolished and the entire military complex was taken over by settlers.
Reuse
It was now another 47 years before Fort Laramie became the focus of interest again. In 1937 the State of Wyoming purchased Fort Laramie with a total of 214 acres . In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially designated Fort Laramie a National Historic Site .
Today Fort Laramie is part of the United States National Park Service, founded in 1916 . Many buildings have been restored, extensively reconstructed and furnished with objects from that time down to the last detail.
These include (tour starting from the visitor center):
- Grocery store (1884): During military use, it was used to distribute groceries; in subsequent private use, it served as a cooling room and partly as a barn. Today the completely restored building is used as a visitor center.
- Old Bakery (1876)
- New bakery (1883): Around seven hundred 750 grams of bread were baked in the brick ovens per day.
- Foundations of the infantry - barracks (1867): This was a one-story wood frame building, which accommodate three companies offered. In addition, there was a kitchen and a dining room for each company.
- New prison (1876): It offered space for forty prisoners and was built due to the catastrophic hygienic conditions of the chronically overcrowded old prison. The conditions of the guards also improved considerably.
- Ruin of the general toilets (1886): In order to prevent the spread of diseases, toilet facilities were built for the crew ranks at an early stage, which channeled their sewage directly into the nearby Laramie River.
- Infantry barracks for two companies (1866): only the south-eastern foundation walls have been preserved here. The kitchens and dining room for each company were behind these barracks.
- Old prison (1866): It had space for twenty prisoners, but was constantly overcrowded. There was only one large room on the first floor for all prisoners and two additional isolation cells. The guards 'and their superiors' apartments were on the first floor.
- Ruins of the administration building (1885): This was a massive brick building. It housed both the Fort Laramie court and library. The rear part of the building was also used as a theater, but also for church events. The children of the officers and soldiers were also taught here.
- Captain's Apartment (1870): Originally intended for sole use by the commanding officer of Fort Laramie, it was divided into two apartments for senior officers in 1872.
- Apellplatz (1841–62): Former location of the original Fort John (on the south side of Paradeplatz). It consisted of houses made of adobe bricks and wooden beams. The type of development and the options for protecting the fort at that time were so poorly structured that the entire complex was abandoned by 1858 and completely dismantled in 1862.
- Ruins of the officers' apartments (1881): This was a large building made of clay and cement, two semi-detached houses and the commandant's house. This extension became necessary because the buildings erected in 1855 were no longer sufficient.
- Old Bedlam (Altes Chaos) (1849): The Old Bedlam was a kind of single home for officers. It is now the oldest military building in all of Wyoming. The name Old Chaos has its origins in the fact that the young officers in the building celebrated most of the largest festivals, with the corresponding effects.
- Today the right half of the building is furnished as it was typical for single officers around 1850. The left side has also been completely restored and furnished as it was under the then commander Lt. Col. William O. Collins was common from 1863 to 1864. His wife lived on the second floor of the building at that time and these rooms are also completely furnished as they were back then.
- This building was the official center for social events.
- Ruins of the officers' building (1862): This building was built before it was used as an officer's accommodation to store weapons , ammunition and other supplies . It was made of a mixture of clay, wood and cement.
- Magazine (1850): This building has been extensively restored and is now in the same condition as in 1850 and 1862. All weapons, ammunition and gunpowder were stored here.
- Infirmary (1875): A two-family house, the southern half of which was renovated and furnished as it was around 1880. It was inhabited by the fort's doctor and his family. In addition to treating patients, his tasks also included recording weather data. He was also the cultural director of the area.
- Post office and outbuilding (1849): This building was originally built by a civilian and was managed with the permission of the military. It was one of the most lucrative commercial businesses for over forty years. Tools, food and whiskey were traded here with soldiers, Indians, prospectors and immigrants. Today it is renovated in the state of 1876. The northern part of the building was added in stone in 1852 and was used as an apartment for the manager during the postal trade. From 1883 this part was also used as a drinking room for soldiers and civilians.
- Post Office - Official House (1886): Built during the Ward-Bullock Partnership. William G. Bullock lived in this house for some time.
- Cavalry Barracks (1874): These cavalry barracks were the largest buildings and are now the oldest surviving structures in Fort Laramie. This building was erected during the great Indian conflicts to accommodate more soldiers in the fort. The troops were housed in two large dormitories on the second floor. After the army auctioned the building in 1890, it was converted into apartments, shops and a pub with a dance hall. Today it is fully equipped again in its original condition.
- Ruin of the hospital (1873): The hospital building was originally built on the remains of an old cemetery from 1868. The hospital was equipped with twelve sick beds. In the building there was a consulting room, kitchen, dining room, isolation room and a doctor's room. However, there was no operating room and no laboratory .
Web links
- National Park Service: Fort Laramie (official site; English)