Located on the South Platte River, Fort Vasquez was an
important trading center for Native
Over time the adobe structure fell into ruins and by 1937
only portions of the original walls remained. Works Progress Administration
workers reconstructed the fort in the late 1930's and excavations in the 1960s
completed the task. Museum exhibits recreate the era of the fur trade, with
Native American artifacts and information on topics such as mountain man
etiquette. A museum store and visitor information center are also part of the
complex.
The present Fort Vasquez is a modern reconstruction of an adobe fur trading
post built about 1835 by mountain men Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette to take
advantage of the Indian trade along the South Platte River. Approximately 100
feet square by 12 feet tall, the fort was reconstructed from small portions of
walls from the original.
Inside were living quarters, a barn, storage rooms, and trade rooms. In
exchange for Indian buffalo robes, the post carried such items as black silk
handkerchiefs, ivory combs, Hudson's Bay blankets, brass kettles, and the
inevitable "Taos Lightning." With increasing competition from
neighboring forts, Vasquez and Sublette sold their post in 1841, and it was
abandoned a year later.
By the 1930s, when the fort was reconstructed as a WPA project, only
small portions of the walls remained. Archaeological excavations of the 1960s
unearthed artifacts as well as new information about the actual size and plan of
the fort--information that was unavailable during the 1930s reconstruction.
First owned by Weld County, Fort Vasquez was deeded to the Colorado
Historical Society in 1958. In 1964 the Society completed the Fort Vasquez
visitors center, which also contains exhibits on the fur trade period.
To learn more about of Fort Vasquez, there
are some links below that you might find interesting.
Information about
Fort Vasquez and the visitor's center.
Short article
and several good photos of Fort Vasquez and the museum.
Be sure to visit
Fort Vasquez if you are in the area. This was a fort built during the
same time period as St. Vrain's fort and it has been partially reconstructed.
Just one mile south of the town of Platteville, the fort is open daily to the
public from Memorial Day to Labor Day. For information, call (970) 785-2832.
