Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Ft. Laramie , WY
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Benchmark Blasterz
N 42° 12.322 W 104° 33.760
13T E 536102 N 4672670
The Fort Laramie National Historic Site is on the US National Register of Historic Places (duh)
Waymark Code: WMK2CN
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 02/02/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 5

The Fort Laramie Historic site spreads over almost 850 acres in the southeastern corner of Wyoming. It is WELL WORTH A VISIT! there is enough history here to interest ANYBODY -- Indian Wars, Military forts, Treaties, westward expansion, gold rush, Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Pony Express, Deadwood stage, early medicine practices, frontier civil engineering -- Blasterz spent 4 hours here, and still do not feel like we saw it all! We'd have stayed longer but had to get to Scotts Bluff NE before it closed :( We almost not quite BARELY made it - but that's another story for another waymark.

From the National Register nomination form: (visit link)

Fort Laramie National Historic District comprises 536 acres, while the Fort Laramie National Historic Site consists of 832.45 acres. The discontiguous National Register boundary for the bridge contains less than one acre. . . . There are 36 significant physical remains at Fort Laramie that provide the context for understanding the people and events associated with the park. . . .

. . .

The historical significance of Fort Laramie National Historic Site is manifest, as it played a prime role in the long epic of the frontier and is a tangible reminder of that heroic past. Fort Laramie is significant in terms of the role it played in the Northern Rockies' fur trade. It was an oasis for the westward bound immigrants the only outpost of civilization for the 800-mile span between Fort Kearney, Nebraska, and Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Historic trails and routes that passed through Fort Laramie, in addition to the Oregon and California Trails, were the Mormon Trail, Bozeman Trail, Pony Express Route, Transcontinental Telegraph Route, and the Deadwood and Cheyenne Stage.

Fort Laramie served as headquarters for military campaigns on the northern plains. Great Indian Councils that attempted to bring peace to the land occurred here. The fort witnessed the development of the open range cattle industry, the coming of homesteaders, and the settlement of the plains that marked the closing of the frontier. Today its physical remains and its history enable visitors to understand that short, swift-moving era in which the frontier swept to the Pacific Ocean, turned back to include the high plains and the mountain ranges, and forged a nation across the continent. This site focuses in one small spot the triumph and the tragedy, the virtues and the violence, and the dream and the reality of Manifest Destiny."
Street address:
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Goshen County Road 53
near Ft. Laramie, WY


County / Borough / Parish: Goshen

Year listed: 1966

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Military; Exploration/Settlement

Periods of significance: 1875-1899; 1850-1874; 1825-1849

Historic function: Military facility; Business

Current function: Museum

Privately owned?: no

Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 6:00 PM

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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Don.Morfe visited Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Ft. Laramie , WY 08/16/2024 Don.Morfe visited it
gmarkusic visited Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Ft. Laramie , WY 09/18/2014 gmarkusic visited it
hummerstation visited Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Ft. Laramie , WY 06/13/2014 hummerstation visited it
Benchmark Blasterz visited Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Ft. Laramie , WY 08/07/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

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