List of forts in Colorado

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The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America. Colorado in United States.svg
The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America .
Bent's Old Fort's internal courtyard and fur press Bents-Old-Fort-Colorado-Fur-Press.jpg
Bent's Old Fort's internal courtyard and fur press

This is a list of military and trading forts established in what is now the U.S. State of Colorado.

Contents

History

External image
Searchtool.svg Map of private and military forts in Colorado from 1807 to 1900

The initial forts, built in the first half of the 19th century, were early communities of commerce between Native Americans, trappers, and traders. William Butler, who wrote about the fur trade in Colorado, stated that there were 24 trading posts built in the pre-territorial area of what is now Colorado. [1] The trading posts were of varying sizes. Gantt's Post had several small wooden buildings located along Fountain Creek. Near Pueblo, Fort Le Duc (Buzzard's Roost) was a small settlement. Bent's Old Fort was a large adobe stockade on the Arkansas River. Multiple trading posts were built along a 13-mile stretch of the South Platte River in the late 1830s: Fort Jackson, Fort Lupton, and Fort Vasquez. In the early 1840s, the fur trade collapsed and most of the trading posts were closed, although some served early communities of miners and farmers. Bent's Old Fort continued to operate as it was located on the Santa Fe Trail, serving people from the United States and the New Spain areas of what is now New Mexico. [1]

Table of Colorado forts

NameOther namesLocationCurrent countyYear foundedYear abandonedTypeStatus
Pike's Stockade Sanford Conejos 18071807U.S. Army stockadeReproduction [2]
Spanish Fort Fort Sangre de Cristo Sangre de Cristo Pass Costilla 18191821Spanish Army fort [2]
Fort Talpa Farisita Huerfano 1820sSpanish post [2] [3]
Fort Uncompahgre Fort Robidoux Delta area Delta 1820s1844Trading postReconstruction [2]
Gantt's Picket Post Fort Gantt Las Animas Bent 18321834Trading postNo remains [4]
Fort Cass Pueblo areaPueblo18341835Trading postNo remains [4]
Fort Convenience Welby area Adams 18341835Trading postNo remains [4]
Bent's Old Fort Fort William [lower-alpha 1] La Junta area Otero 18341849Trading post National Historic Site and museum [4]
Fort Le Duc Fort Maurice, Buzzard's Roost, El Cuervo Wetmore area Custer 1830s1854Trading postNo remains [4]
Fort Vasquez Platteville Weld 18351842Trading postRestored and museum [4]
Fort Jackson Ione areaWeld18371838Trading postFoundation remains [4]
Fort Lupton Fort Lawrence Fort Lupton Weld18371844Trading postReconstructed [4]
Fort Saint Vrain Fort George, Fort LookoutPlattevilleWeld18371855Trading postHistorical marker [4]
Fort Gerry Kersey areaWeldlate 1830s1840sTrading post [5]
Milk Fort Fort Leche, Pueblo de Leche, Fort El Puebla, Peebles Fort, Fort IndependenceLas AnimasOterolate 1830sTrading post / settlementNo remains [4] [5] [6]
Fort Davy Crockett Fort Misery Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge Moffat late 1830sTrading post [4]
Fraeb's Post Fort Fraeb Steamboat Springs area Routt 18401841Trading postNo remains [4]
El Pueblo Fort Pueblo, Fort Nepesta, Fort Fisher, Fort Juana, Fort Spaulding, Robert Fisher's Fort Pueblo Pueblo 18421854Trading PostNo remains [6] [7]
Fort Huerfano Avondale Pueblo 1845EncampmentNo remains [8] [9] [5]
Mormon Battalion and The Vanguard Company of 1847, Mormon Trail Fort IndependencePuebloPueblo18461847Mormon homesNo remains [7]
Fort Massachusetts Fort Garland Costilla 18521858U.S. Army fortArchaeological site [7]
Bent's New Fort See Fort Lyon 1 Lamar area Bent 18531860Trading postFoundation remains [7]
Fort Garland Fort GarlandCostilla18581883U.S. Army fortReconstructed [7]
Fort Namaqua Modena's Crossing, Namaqua Station, Mariano's Crossing, Big Thompson, Miraville Loveland Larimer 1858 or 18591868+Trading postHistorical marker at Namaqua Park [7] [10] [11]
Fort Mary B Fort Independence, Fort Independent, Fort Breckenridge, Fort Meribeh Breckenridge Summit 1859StockadeNo remains [12]
Fort Lyon 1 Fort Fauntleroy, Fort WiseLamar areaProwers18601867U.S. Army fortDestroyed by fire [7] [13]
Fort Weld Denver Denver 18611865U.S. Army postHistorical marker at 8th/Vallejo [7]
Camp Collins / Fort Collins Fort Collins Larimer 18621867U.S. Army camp / fortNo remains [14]
Francisco Fort Fort Francisco La Veta Huerfano18621902Civilian fortRefurbished, now a museum [14] [15]
Fort Morgan Camp Tyler, Camp Wardwell Fort Morgan Morgan 18641868U.S. Army postHistorical marker in city park [14]
Fort Wicked Merino Logan 18641868HouseHistorical marker at US-6/CR-26 [14]
Fort Sedgwick Post at Julesburg, Camp Rankin, Fort Ranking Sedgwick Sedgwick 18641871U.S. Army postHistorical marker [14] [5]
Fort Reynolds AvondalePueblo18671872U.S. Army postHistorical marker [14]
Fort Lyon 2Las AnimasBent18671897U.S. Army post [14]
Fort Lewis 1Cantonment at Pagosa Springs Pagosa Springs Archuleta 18781880U.S. Army postSite is a city park [14]
Fort Flagler Camp at Animas City Durango La Plata 1879Temporary stockades [14]
Fort Meeker Cantonment on White River Meeker Rio Blanco 18791883U.S. Army campQuarters refurbished, museum [14]
Fort Lewis 2 Hesperus La Plata 18801891U.S. Army postConverted to Indian boarding school
Fort Crawford Cantonment at Uncompahgre Montrose Montrose 18801891U.S. Army postHistorical marker [14]
Fort Narraguinnep Dolores area Montezuma 1885Rancher's fortU.S. Forest Service sign [14]
Fort Logan Fort Sheridansouthwest Denver Denver and Arapahoe 18871946U.S. Army postOne building is a museum [14] [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Between 1830 and 1834, William Bent operated Fort William near what is now Pueblo. It was also called Bent's Picket Post. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Animas, Colorado</span> City in Colorado, United States

Las Animas is the statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,300 at the 2020 United States Census. Las Animas is located on the Arkansas River, just west of its confluence with the Purgatoire River, in southeast Colorado east of Pueblo, near the historic Bent's Fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Vasquez</span> United States historic place

Fort Vasquez is a former fur trading post 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Denver, Colorado, United States, founded by Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette in 1835. Restored by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, it now lies in a rather incongruous position as U.S. Route 85 splits to run either side of the building. History Colorado took possession of the property in 1958 and runs it as a museum to display exhibits of the fur-trade era.

Fort Morgan, first called Camp Tyler and Camp Wardwell, was established in the present-day city of Fort Morgan in Morgan County, Colorado as a U.S. military post in 1864. It operated until 1868. There is a historical marker in a city park in remembrance of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver Creek Massacre Site</span> United States historic place

Beaver Creek Massacre Site, located about 16 miles (26 km) Dolores, Colorado, occurred on June 19, 1885 between Ute Mountain Utes and white cattlemen over land use and Native American policies established for Native Americans. The last conflict of its kind in Colorado, it followed the Meeker Massacre and Sand Creek Massacre. Six or eleven Ute Mountain Ute Tribe people were killed. Two or three days later, a white man and his family were attacked in Montezuma County. Mr. Genthner was killed and his wife was wounded. The Beaver Creek Massacre site is located along a dirt forest road in the Dolores Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1986.

Fort Le Duc or Fort LeDuc was a square fort and trading post built near Wetmore, Colorado. It was named after trapper Maurice LeDuc or Maurice LeDoux, and constructed around 1830 or 1835.

Fort Jackson was a fur trading post near the present-day town of Ione in Weld County, Colorado that operated from 1837 to 1838. It was one of the four trading posts along the South Platte River area. Nearby posts and competitors were Fort Vasquez, Fort Lupton, and Fort Saint Vrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Logan</span>

Fort Logan was a military installation located eight miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. It was established in October 1887, when the first soldiers camped on the land, and lasted until 1946, when it was closed following the end of World War II. After the fort closed the site was used as a mental health center and part of the land was set aside for the Fort Logan National Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farisita, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States

Farisita is an unincorporated community in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresita Sandoval</span> Co-founder of El Pueblo (1811-1894)

Maria Teresa "Teresita" Sandoval Suazo (1811–1894) was among the first women of European heritage to live in the Arkansas Valley of present-day Colorado. She is one of the founders of El Pueblo in the current city of Pueblo, Colorado. She managed a ranch, the Doyle Settlement, in her later years.

Autobees, Colorado, also called Autobees Plaza, is an extinct town in Colorado. It was the county seat of Huerfano County, Colorado from 1861 to 1868. At that time, the county seat moved to Badito, which was on a main trail along the foothills. When Autobees was the county seat, Huerfano County was almost the entire southeastern portion of the state. Now, the site of the former settlement is within Pueblo County, Colorado.

Fort Reynolds was a United States Army post near Avondale, Colorado during the Indian Wars and the Civil War. The site is about 20 miles (32 km) east of Pueblo, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lupton (Colorado)</span> Trading post and fort in Colorado, United States

Fort Lupton, located in the city of the same name, was a trading post from 1836 or 1837 to 1844. After operating as a stage coach station and used as a house, the building fell into disrepair and crumbled to all but a portion of one wall by the early 20th century. The trading post has been reconstructed yards away from its original site and is now part of the South Platte Historical Park in northwestern Fort Lupton, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Sedgwick</span> U.S. military post in Colorado, United States

Fort Sedgwick, also known as Post at Julesburg, Camp Rankin, and Fort Rankin was a U.S. military post from 1864 to 1871, in Sedgwick County, Colorado. There are two historical markers for the former post. The town was named for Fort Sedgwick, which was named after John Sedgwick, who was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Fort Davy Crockett, also called Fort Misery, was a trading post of the late 1830s and early 1840s. The site is located within Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge in Moffat County, Colorado. Unlike most trading posts within the confines of the current state of Colorado, Fort Davy Crockett was located west of the Rocky Mountains in what is now northwestern Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wicked</span> Civilian fort in Colorado, United States

Fort Wicked was a ranch and stage station on the Overland Trail from 1864 to 1868 in present-day Merino, Colorado. A historical marker commemorating the ranch is located at US 6 and CR-2.5. The ranch itself was located near a ford of the South Platte River, near where US-6 now crosses over the river. Fort Wicked was one of the few places along the trail to Denver that withstood an attack by Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native Americans in the Colorado War of 1864. It was named Fort Wicked for the "bitter defence" made by Holon Godfrey, his family, and his employees.

Fort Namaqua, some of its other names are Mariano's Crossing and Namaqua Station, was a trading post from 1858 or 1859. It was located in the present-day city of Loveland, Colorado in Larimer County, Colorado. In 1862, it became a stage station for travelers along the foothills to Denver. A fort was built at the site after 60 horses were driven off the property. Medina also developed a small settlement with people from his hometown of Taos, New Mexico. The site was named Namaqua in 1868, with the establishment of a post office. Buildings were used until the 1920s and were later dismantled. A historical marker is located at Namaqua Park, near the site of the former fort and station.

Fort Crawford, first known as Cantonment at Uncompahgre, was a U.S. military post along the Uncompahgre River, south of Montrose in Montrose County, Colorado. It was built following the Meeker Massacre and operated from 1880 to 1891. A historical marker is located somewhat near the site of the fort, which is on private property.

Milk Fort, also known as Fort Leche, Pueblo de Leche, Fort El Puebla, Peebles Fort, and Fort Independence was a trading post and settlement in Otero County, Colorado in the late 1830s. There are no remains of the settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte and Dick Green</span>

Charlotte and Dick Green were enslaved African Americans who worked at Bent's Fort along the Santa Fe Trail in the southwestern frontier, in what is now Colorado. The couple and Dick's brother Andrew came to the fort with Charles and William Bent in the early 1800s and became key figures in the history of the trading post. Charlotte, also called "Black Charlotte", was known for her tasty food and fandango dancing. Dick Green was particularly well known for his role as a soldier, avenging the assassination of then Governor Charles Bent during the Taos Revolt. For his bravery, the Greens were freed and returned to Missouri.

References

  1. 1 2 Newton, Cody (April 6, 2015). "Nineteenth-Century Trading Posts". Colorado Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT8. ISBN   978-1-61423-903-1.
  3. ↑ Best Books on (1941). Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State,. Best Books on. p. 350. ISBN   978-1-62376-006-9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT9. ISBN   978-1-61423-903-1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Phil Payette; Pete Payette. "Colorado forts - Fort Huerfano". American Forts Network. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Glenn R. Scott (2004) [1975], "Historic Trail Maps of the Pueblo 1° x 2° Quadrangle, Colorado" (PDF), U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, pp. 4, 50
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT10. ISBN   978-1-61423-903-1.
  8. ↑ Frank Hall (1891). History of the State of Colorado, Embracing Accounts of the Pre-historic Races and Their Remains. Blakely print. Company. p. 446.
  9. ↑ Colorado Magazine. State Historical Society of Colorado, State Museum. 1966. p. 281.
  10. ↑ From the Grave: A Roadside Guide to Colorado's Pioneer Cemeteries. Caxton Press. p. 217. ISBN   978-0-87004-565-3.
  11. ↑ Jessen, Kenneth (July 26, 2014). "Spanish-Speaking Mariano Medina built a fort". Reporter-Herald. Loveland, Colorado. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ Hague, Rick (November 30, 2015). "How the early runs on Peak 7 at Breckenridge got their names". Summit Daily. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  13. ↑ Thomas J. Noel (May 29, 2015). Colorado: A Historical Atlas. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 78. ISBN   978-0-8061-5353-7.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. PT11. ISBN   978-1-61423-903-1.
  15. ↑ Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 31.

38°59′50″N105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (State of Colorado)

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