Fort Platte (Goshen County, Wyoming)
Goshen County · Wyoming · Indian Wars
History & Significance
Fort Platte was established by Lancaster Lupton as a stronghold and trading post in the upper Platte River Valley of eastern Wyoming, operating between 1840 and 1846. Lupton, an ex-army officer turned fur trader who had previously established Fort Lupton in Colorado, built the post to exploit ineffective management and inadequate supply systems at the nearby competing Fort William (Fort Laramie).
The location's competitive advantage allowed the new post to quickly surpass Fort Laramie in trade volume due to its superior supply system. Financial pressures forced Lupton to sell the establishment in 1842, after which the successful St. Louis firm Pratte and Cabanné managed operations from 1843 to 1845.
The fort occupied the left bank of the North Platte River three-quarters of a mile above the Laramie mouth, with adobe walls four feet thick and twenty feet high, flanked by bastions commanding all approaches. Within the walls stood approximately twelve buildings—offices, warehouses, workshops, kitchen, and dwellings—arranged around a yard and corral for housing over two hundred animals.
Competition in the declining fur trade led to open trafficking in alcohol, and the effects on Indian communities around both Forts Platte and Laramie were noted by multiple travelers during the 1840s. The post was described by Rufus B. Sage in his 1846 account as second only to Fort Hall on the Oregon Trail route in importance.
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Platte
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/ftlaramie.htm
- https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/goshen-county-wyoming
- https://wyoarchaeo.wyo.gov/DocsPDFs/Publications/Trading%20Posts%20in%20Wyoming_Pierce.pdf
- https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57924/57924-h/57924-h.htm
- https://wyoshpo.wyo.gov/index.php/programs/national-register/wyoming-listings/view-full-list/976-trading-posts-in-wyoming-1832-1868