Bent's Old Fort | |
 Bent's Old Fort | |
  Bent's Old Fort  Bent's Old Fort | |
| Location | Otero County,Colorado, United States |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | La Junta, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 38°02′26″N103°25′46″W / 38.0406°N 103.4294°W /38.0406; -103.4294 (Bent's Old Fort)[1] |
| Area | 799 acres (3.23 km2)[2] |
| Built | 1833 |
| Architect | William Bent;Charles Bent |
| Visitation | 28,131 (2009)[3] |
| Website | Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000254 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[4] |
| Designated NHL | June 3, 1960 |
| Designated NHS | December 19, 1960[5] |
Bent's Old Fort is a historical fort located inOtero County in southeasternColorado, United States. A company owned byCharles Bent andWilliam Bent andCeran St. Vrain built the fort in 1833 to trade with SouthernCheyenne andArapaho Plains Indians and trappers forbuffalo robes. For much of its 16-year operation as a trading post, the fort was the only major whiteAmerican permanent settlement on theSanta Fe Trail betweenMissouri and the Mexican settlements. It was initially abandoned by William Bent in 1849.
The fort was reconstructed in 1976 and is open to the public. The area of the fort was designated aNational Historic Site under theNational Park Service on June 3, 1960. It was further designated aNational Historic Landmark later that year on December 19, 1960.[5][6][7]
The adobe fort quickly became the center of the Bent, St. Vrain Company's expanding trade empire, which includedFort Saint Vrain to the north andFort Adobe to the south, along with company stores inNew Mexico atTaos andSanta Fe. The primary trade was with the SouthernCheyenne andArapaho Indians forbuffalo robes.
From 1833 to 1849, the fort was a stopping point along theSanta Fe Trail. From 1833 to 1849, the fort was a key trading hub along the Santa Fe Trail. Although founded by American traders, it was located on Mexican territory and operated under Mexican jurisdiction until 1848. Bent, St. Vrain & Company obtained Mexican trading licenses and paid customs duties on goods moving through the region.[8] The fort maintained close economic and legal ties to Mexican New Mexico, serving as a critical link between U.S. and Mexican trade networks. The U.S. Army,explorers, and other travelers stopped at the fort to replenish supplies, such as water and food, and perform needed maintenance to their wagons. The American frontiersmanKit Carson was employed as a hunter by the Bent brothers in 1841, and regularly visited the Fort.[9] Likewise, the explorerJohn C. Frémont used the Fort as both a staging area and a replenishment junction, for his expeditions.[10] During theMexican–American War in 1846, the fort became a staging area for ColonelStephen Watts Kearny's "Army of the West".[11]
Ralph Emerson Twitchell makes the following statement.[12]
Bent's Fort is described as having been a structure built of adobe bricks. It was 180 feet long and 135 feet wide. The walls were 15 feet in height and four feet thick and it was the strongest post at that time west of Ft. Leavenworth. The construction of this fort was commenced in 1828 ... at a point on the Arkansas somewhere between the present cities of Pueblo and Canon City, having been disadvantageously located. Four years were required in which to complete the structure. On the northwest and southeast corners were hexagonal bastions, in which were mounted a number of cannon. The walls of the fort served as walls of the rooms, all of which faced inwardly on a court or plaza. The walls were loopholed for musketry, and the entrance was through large wooden gates of very heavy timbers.
_-_Old_Fort_Bent%2c_La_Junta%2c_Otero_County%2c_CO_00002v.jpg)
In 1849 when a great cholera epidemic struck the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians, William Bent abandoned Bent's Fort and moved his headquarters north toFort Saint Vrain on the South Platte. When he returned south in 1852, he relocated his trading business to his log trading post atBig Timbers, near what is nowLamar, Colorado. Later, in the fall of 1853, Bent began building a stone fort on the bluff above Big Timbers,Bent's New Fort, where he conducted his trading business until 1860.[13]
When the fort was reconstructed in 1976, its design was based on the use ofarchaeological excavations, paintings and original sketches, diaries and other existing historical data from the period, as well as significant guesswork.
Municipalities and communities ofOtero County, Colorado,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Trading posts | ||
| Overview | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading posts and civilian forts |
| ||||||||
| U.S. and Spanish military forts |
| ||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contemporary peoples native to Colorado |
| ||||||||
| Precontact cultures in Colorado |
| ||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
