Bent's New Fort (Bent County, near Lamar, Colorado)

Bent County, near Lamar · Colorado · Indian Wars

Quick BriefBuilt in the summer and fall of 1853 from stone, Bent's New Fort functioned as William Bent's trading post and later, from 1860 onward, as a U.S. military outpost. During its brief active life from 1853–67, the fort witnessed escalating conflict between settlers and Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Abandonment followed an 1867 Arkansas River flood.

History & Significance

After abandoning his original Bent's Fort in 1849, William Bent relocated his trading business to a log post at Big Timbers near what is now Lamar, Colorado, and in fall 1853 began constructing a stone fort on the bluff above Big Timbers. The fort was staffed by about ten Native American, French-Canadian, Mexican, and white American men—described as a "motley crew"—many of whom had been trappers and most of whom had at least one Native American wife.

Though Bent possessed sufficient merchandise to resume trading, he could not sustain the volume achieved in the 1830s–1840s; westward travel had reduced wildlife and buffalo herds, while the fur trade had declined significantly, resulting in hunger among Native Americans and fewer hides to trade. William Bent operated the post with limited success until 1860, when he leased it to the United States government; the Army named it Fort Lyon in 1862.

Between 1853 and 1867, the fort served as a jumping-off point for soldiers campaigning against Plains Indians in the Red River War, yet simultaneously functioned as a destination for military and civilians attempting to maintain peaceful relations between the government and tribes. Only foundation ruins remain today on private land.