Fort Laramie National Historic Site

This week's Record of the Week travels to southeast Wyoming to visit Fort Laramie National Historic Site! Since it's establishment in 1834, it has served many different purposes.

Robert Campbell, an American frontiersman, founded Fort Laramie's predecessor Fort William as a small fur trading post. Fort William was upgraded to accommodate increased trade with the Lakota Tribe and renamed Fort John. For 15 years, Fort John served an important role in outfitting westbound settlers until 1849 when it was purchased by the U.S. Army for $4,000.

The Army renamed the fort to Fort Laramie and was converted from a trading post to a military post with the addition of stables, a guardhouse and other military specific upgrades. Fort Laramie continued to grow and eventually became the main military post servicing the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska (The Northern Plains). The significance of the post even attracted national infrastructure including the Pony Express and the transcontinental telegraph.

Fort Laramie played a pivotal role in the controversial Indian Wars and was abandoned after the transcontinental railroad was completed, making the Fort obsolete. It was then sold at auction in 1890 after roughly 40 years of military use. Nearly 50 years of private ownership almost lead to the complete deterioration of the historic site until it was acquired by the National Park Service and restoration began.

President Franklin Roosevelt declared Fort Laramie a National Monument in 1938,protecting the 214 acres of land that were federally owned. When the Fort was redesignated as a National Historic Site in 1960, an additional 513 acres were purchased and restoration measures were increased. The restoration of the important historic site continues today.

Above is a plat of Fort Laramie Military Reservation from 1891 and spans 33445.24 acres covering multiple townships. In addition to the typical terrain features found on plats, this plat also shows nearby roads leading to Fort Laramie and a bridge that spans North Platte River. The plat was signed by Surveyor General William A. Richards who also served as 30th Commissioner of the General Land Office and the 4th Governor of Wyoming.