Fort Davy Crockett (Moffat County, Colorado)
Moffat County · Colorado · Fur Trade Era
History & Significance
Unlike most trading posts within the current state of Colorado, Fort Davy Crockett was located west of the Rocky Mountains in what is now northwestern Colorado. Prior to the establishment of Fort Davy Crockett, the location was an important wintering spot for Native Americans and early fur trappers.
The post was established between 1832 and 1837 by Phillip Thompson, Prewitt Sinclair, and William Craig, likely a year after Crockett's death at the Alamo in 1836. From the mid-1830s to 1840, Fort Davy Crockett, along with Fort Uncompahgre and Fort Uintah, served as centers of trade with Native American tribes, fur trappers, and passing travelers.
Described as "a hollow square of one-story log cabins with roofs and floors of mud," the fort was commonly known as Fort Misery by local trappers. Following the 1839 rendezvous, trappers wintered at the fort; however, as prospects declined, Philip Thompson and others turned to horse stealing, prompting Joseph Walker and other mountain men—including Kit Carson—to pursue and recover the stolen animals, ultimately dissolving the partnership and leading to the fort's abandonment. By 1844, when explorer John C. Fremont entered Browns Hole, the fort was abandoned and in ruins.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Adobe and cottonwood ruins in hollow-square design from 1830s fur trading post
- Remote Browns Park location reflects harsh frontier conditions of mountain trading life
- Site documents beaver fur trade and mountain man era in northwestern Colorado
- Remnants show European-American and Native American contact during early western expansion
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Davy_Crockett
- https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-davy-crockett
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-davy-crockett/
- https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/fort-crockett-was-a-busy-fur-trade-site-in-brown-s-park/article_003d56a2-bc42-11ec-a082-9be6a7ef6031.html
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=154044
- https://www.craigdailypress.com/opinion/history-in-focus-the-new-tourism/
- http://www.mman.us/fortdaveycrockett.htm
- https://kchistory.org/binary/fort-davy-crockett-its-fur-men-and-visitors