Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

On the way to California or Oregon in the mid-19th century, you might look forward to arriving at Fort Laramie in east-central Wyoming. Travelers on the Mormon, Oregon, and California trails were welcomed by the traders who were ready to help the travelers replenish their supplies on the journey west.

The trading post opened as Fort William in 1834, and Lakota Sioux traded pelts and buffalo robes for manufactured goods. For 56 years, miners, soldiers, emigrants, ranchers, homesteaders, and Native Americans all provided a business at this flourishing trading post. Renamed Fort John, the importance of the location along the North Platte was its blessing and its curse.

As competition heated up in the form of nearby trading posts built in the area, the post was sold to the U.S. Army in 1849. Renamed Fort Laramie by the Army, new buildings were hastily constructed to serve the needs of a military garrison.

The fort soon grew to become a principal military outpost on the Northern Plains and a hub for transportation and communication, as well. As its location is a prime gateway into the Rocky Mountains, those emigrant trails, stage lines, telegraph systems, and the Pony Express used Fort Laramie as a waypoint.

The Visitor Center is housed in what was the fort’s Commissary Storehouse. Original buildings, restored or reconstructed buildings, and locations of buildings no longer standing are identified throughout the site on plaque markers.

As a military center, the fort became the location for signatories of significant and controversial treaties with the many nearby tribes. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 (also known as the Horse Creek Treaty) was signed at the fort, for example.

The historic site is open year-round, dawn to dusk, every day. The museum and visitor center are open daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Hours of opening for the center are longer in the summer, and admission to the site is free.

Old Bedlam is literally the oldest standing military building in Wyoming. Originally it was officers quarters, but is now remembered as the post’s headquarters. At one point, the building was all but fallen in upon itself. Like most of the buildings in the fort, it fell into disrepair. In the 1960’s a renovation of the building brought a museum-like quality to the reconstruction.

Several of the rooms were restored with actual items of the period. Visitors cannot enter the rooms, but instead can look at the contents through plexiglass blocking the entrances.

The restoration of Old Bedlam started in 1939, but little was done by 1940 when a large crowd attended ceremonies where officials spoke from the platform of the newly rejuvenated porch.

The renovation of Old Bedlam was substantially completed in June, 1964. The major physical reconstruction took about four years, though prep work took the prior three years to complete.

There is plenty more to see of the grounds of Fort Laramie. If you are so inclined, you can get a 2K HD closeup of these images by the click through link on the photograph. Alternatively, you can visit my Flickr album here to view the entire gallery.

Note: If all goes well, we’ll be on a cruise ship when this journey is published on September 13, 2022. I have found Internet connections to be less than stellar on cruise ships, so I didn’t even buy an Internet access package for the week. It’s been a long time since I’ve “unplugged” for a week. My only connection times will be when in port, three stops, and lots of sea days. My responses to your comments will be a bit tardy.

John Steiner

Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

On our way into the Fort Laramie National Historic Site, we came across this sizeable three-span bridge over the North Platte River. Our first view of the bridge was from the north side, with little space to park. We would soon discover a small parking area with some informational plaques that told the story of the bridge. One of the plaques reads in part, “Erected 1875. This bridge was a vital link between Cheyenne, Fort Laramie, and the military outposts, Indian agencies, and gold fields of the Black Hills Dakota region.“

Consisting of two 125-foot (38 m) spans and one 150-foot (46 m) span, the bridge is constructed of wrought iron and native pine. The 12-foot (4 m) roadway carried the typical daily traffic across the North Platte River when the bridge was finally completed in 1876.

The bridge was replaced by a concrete and steel bridge (just visible to the right in the image above) in 1958, and a complete restoration of the original structure provided pedestrian use for the historic bridge in 1969.

The bridge has a total length of 400 feet (122 m) and covers a much larger area than the summer width of the North Platte. No doubt it is as long as it needed to be to handle the widened river during the spring snowmelt.

At some point in the history of the bridge, two large boat-shaped planter boxes sit astride the bridge. There were no markers or other indications of their purpose.

The small parking area features access to a small park and a trailhead that, as you can see from the drone shot, accesses the trail that parallels the southern side of the North Platte.

Wayside markers provide information as you walk along the 1.6-mile (2.6 km) hiking trail. It’s an easy walk on relatively level ground. The trail is a lasso loop that goes from the parking lot at the bridge to the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers and back. The view along the river is shaded by cottonwood and willow trees that grow along the river banks.

For a closer look at any of the images or check out the metadata click on any photo. You can also view and scroll through all of the images on my Flickr site in 2K HD by clicking here.

John Steiner