%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Louis Vasquez http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louis-vasquez <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Louis Vasquez</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-10-06T16:37:47-06:00" title="Thursday, October 6, 2016 - 16:37" class="datetime">Thu, 10/06/2016 - 16:37</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louis-vasquez" data-a2a-title="Louis Vasquez"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Flouis-vasquez&amp;title=Louis%20Vasquez"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Louis Vasquez (1798–1868) was a fur trapper and mountain man active in Colorado during the 1820s and 1830s. He reportedly constructed Fort Convenience and a hunter’s cabin that predated the majority of settlement in the region. One of the <a href="/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>Colorado fur trade</strong></a>’s more successful trappers, Vasquez is also known for operating <a href="/article/fort-vasquez"><strong>Fort Vasquez</strong></a>, a <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading post</strong></a> on the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river">South Platte River</a>,</strong> established in1835.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Pierre Louis Vasquez was born in St. Louis in 1798, the son of a Spanish father, Benito, and a French-Canadian mother, Julie Papin. Louis was the youngest of twelve children, and his father died when he was twelve, leaving his oldest brother, Benito, Jr., as the head of the family. All of Vasquez’s surviving letters were written in French, the family language. In 1822, at age twenty-four, he answered an advertisement placed by <strong>William Ashley</strong> in a St. Louis newspaper seeking young adventurers for the western fur trade. Vasquez and others were to become the mountain men of the West, hunting, trapping, and trading throughout the northern Rocky Mountains, including what was to become Colorado. Although not as famous today as some of his contemporaries, such as his occasional partner <strong>Jim Bridger</strong>, Vasquez was highly regarded in his day.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In a letter datelined “Hams Fork July 9<sup>th</sup> 1834 United States Territory,” Vasquez wrote to his brother Benito, informing him that he was staying in the mountains to trap <a href="/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a> rather than returning to St. Louis. Vasquez was taking a break from the frenetic activities of the annual rendezvous of mountain men, traders, and Indians along the Green River, in present-day southwestern Wyoming. Vasquez and his men had been there since mid-June. On the nineteenth, <strong>William Sublette </strong>and Jim Fitzpatrick, Vasquez’s colleagues in the American Fur Company, had moved their camps from the Green River to Hams Fork, a nearby tributary, seeking better pastures. Presumably Vasquez joined them in the move.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>His letter was unusually newsy. He had traded with the Crows in the previous fall and spring and had lost two men in a battle with the Blackfeet. In a postscript he asked Benito to send him some novels. On the next day, July 10, journalist William Marshall Anderson recorded that Vasquez departed with ten men, “their objective probably the Laramie Mountains.” Vasquez was approaching his thirty-sixth birthday at the time, but already he was a grizzled veteran trapper, commonly referred to as “Old Vaskiss.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Fort Convenience</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Vasquez’s first known foray into present-day Colorado was in the 1830s. There is no evidence of his being in the state before 1834, although there are gaps in the record. He was still operating in Wyoming in 1833 and through the summer of 1834, so it is unlikely he was in Colorado before that, at least not for any substantial amount of time. After Vasquez and his band of trappers departed Hams Fork in 1834, his next point-of-contact was on December 30, 1834, when he wrote another letter to Benito and datelined it “Fort Convenience.” Unlike the July letter, this one gives no indication of his specific whereabouts, nor any description of “Fort Convenience.” The mystery lies in the fact that Vasquez never mentions the fort again, no other contemporary accounts of it exist by name, and no firsthand descriptions of its remains are known. Yet in later decades, published accounts confidently described the location, year of construction, and physical appearance of a “temporary fort” that some claim was Fort Convenience.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Throughout the decades, historians and other writers have repeated the story of the temporary trading post or fort, sometimes called Fort Convenience. The stated dates of construction range from 1832 to 1836. The structure is variously described as a cabin, log cabin, “little more than a single adobe building,” and a “temporary post.” Commonly, this post was confused with Fort Vasquez. Of course, it is quite possible that Vasquez was simply being whimsical when he gave “Fort Convenience” as his return address in December 1834, even though this quirk is somewhat out of character—Vasquez does not reveal a keen sense of humor in his letters and, although fun-loving, he was not known as a prankster.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Hunter’s Cabin</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Another of Vasquez’s marks on Colorado’s pre-territorial history comes through the story of a hunter’s cabin. As the story goes, the first gold prospectors working their way up <a href="/article/clear-creek-canyon-0"><strong>Clear Creek</strong> <strong>Canyon</strong></a> in 1859 came across the remains of a hunter’s cabin near the confluence of the west Fork of Clear Creek and the main stem (sometimes known then as the South Fork). Today the area is known as Empire Junction, at the foot of Douglas Mountain near the town of Empire. Since that time, the “hunter’s cabin” has become linked with Louis Vasquez. According to most descriptions, the structure was a log cabin surrounded by a fence made of antlers, with piles of animal bones nearby.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The story of the cabin parallels the stories about Fort Convenience in that Vasquez reportedly built the structure but there are no contemporary accounts of it. Vasquez and his colleagues never mentioned it, and no documentation of such a cabin exists from the pre-mining era, either by early explorers of the Clear Creek basin or by the prospectors themselves. In both cases historical accounts refer to “evidence” or “records” without any supporting documentation. Accounts of the cabin appear primarily in newspaper articles and unpublished personal notes. In addition, the alleged site of the cabin has been altered considerably since the 1830s, with the construction of the Colorado Central Railroad in 1877 and the relocation of US Highway 6 in the 1930s. For these reasons, historians have given the hunter’s cabin little attention, but modern accounts exist by people who claim to have seen the cabin ruins. Thus, there remains at least a small chance to locate the cabin’s site and confirm its existence.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 1835 Vasquez returned to St. Louis, where he got his trading license from William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. That fall he returned to the South Platte River with his new partner, Andrew Sublette, and his nephew Pike, who was making his first trip to the mountains. The best known of Vasquez’s Colorado connections is his co-proprietorship of Fort Vasquez with Sublette from about 1835 to 1841. The fort stood on the east bank of the South Platte River, near present-day Platteville north of Denver. Fort Vasquez was one of four prominent trading posts that sprang up along the South Platte in the 1830s, along with <strong>Fort St. Vrain</strong>, <a href="/article/fort-jackson"><strong>Fort Jackson</strong></a>, and <strong>Fort Lupton</strong>. When Vasquez’s enterprise failed, he joined with Jim Bridger to build and operate <strong>Fort Bridger </strong>in southwestern Wyoming in 1843. It was the first fort in the trans-Mississippi West built expressly to trade with immigrants rather than for the fur trade. Thus, its operation essentially marked the end of the fur trade in the West. Vasquez sold his share of Fort Bridger to the Mormons in the mid-1850s and left the mountains for retirement in Missouri, probably in 1855. By 1859 he was living in Westport, now a part of Kansas City. He died on September 7, 1868, at age seventy, and lies buried in Kansas City.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from William A. Wilson, “Louis Vasquez in Colorado and the Uncertain Histories of Fort Convenience and a Hunter’s Cabin,” <em>Colorado Heritage Magazine</em> 23, no.1 (2003).</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/louis-vasquez" hreflang="en">Louis Vasquez</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mountain-man" hreflang="en">Mountain Man</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fur-trade" hreflang="en">fur trade</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/trading-post" hreflang="en">trading post</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="http://www.co.clear-creek.co.us/DocumentCenter/View/2529">MP 258: Empire Junction</a>,” Clear Creek County, Milepost Index, 2012.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/fort-vasquez-museum-field-trips">Fort Vasquez Museum</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>LeRoy R. Hafen, <em>The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West: Biographical Sketches of the Participants by Scholars of the Subject and with Introductions by the Editor</em> (Spokane, WA: Arthur H. Clark, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert M. Utley, <em>A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific</em> (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1997).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 06 Oct 2016 22:37:47 +0000 yongli 1928 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Bent's Forts http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bents-forts <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Bent&#039;s Forts</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1329--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1329.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/bents-old-fort"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/IMG_7748.jpg?itok=xO9-0jcV" width="1090" height="818" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/bents-old-fort" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Bent&#039;s Old Fort</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Inside Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1330--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1330.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/plaza-bents-old-fort-historic-site"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/IMG_7711.jpg?itok=7_mqN0MH" width="1090" height="818" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/plaza-bents-old-fort-historic-site" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Plaza, Bent&#039;s Old Fort Historic Site</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>View of the plaza within Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. In the 1830s and '40s, Native Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Hispanos met in the plaza to conduct trade.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1331--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1331.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/bents-new-fort-plan"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Bents%20New%20Fort%20sketch%20mapwkey_0.jpg?itok=lU1dbetW" width="1090" height="1152" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/bents-new-fort-plan" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Bent&#039;s New Fort Plan</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In 1849 a decline in the bison hide trade forced William Bent to close his original trading post and open a new one farther down the Arkansas River. This sketch by archaeologist Michelle A. Slaughter outlines the layout of the new fort (click for larger image).</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1328--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1328.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/richard-carrillo"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/RichardCarrillo%20%281%29.jpg?itok=sUUHSBnl" width="1090" height="818" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/richard-carrillo" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Richard Carrillo</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Richard Carrillo explains excavation results at Bent’s New Fort. At the time of his death in 2014, Carrillo was the preeminent Southeastern Colorado archaeologist and historian and was working on a project at Bent’s New Fort.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/nick-johnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Nick Johnson</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-05-06T10:52:40-06:00" title="Friday, May 6, 2016 - 10:52" class="datetime">Fri, 05/06/2016 - 10:52</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bents-forts" data-a2a-title="Bent&#039;s Forts"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fbents-forts&amp;title=Bent%27s%20Forts"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>In the early and mid-nineteenth century, when the western United States was in a seemingly unending state of flux as people competed for dominance over the land and its resources, three men moved to what would eventually become southeastern Colorado and there established a trading and commercial empire. The Bents—brothers William, Charles, and <a href="/article/george-bent"><strong>George</strong></a>—arrived in the area in the late 1820s, and established two <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading posts</strong></a> that were essential in the eventual establishment of permanent communities in the region.</p> <p>The Bents’ empire mixed the American influence of St. Louis and Westport, Missouri, with the existing Spanish and French Canadian influences and traditions in the region. The <strong>Kiowa</strong>, <strong>Comanche</strong>, Plains <strong>Apache</strong>, and Nuche (<a href="/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> people) also controlled territory in southeastern Colorado and influenced the region’s cultural medley. As the Bents increased their economic domain, the <strong>Cheyenne</strong> and <strong>Arapaho</strong> peoples made increasing inroads into the plains bounded by the Rockies on the west, the Platte Rivers to the north, and the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> to the south.</p> <p>Perhaps anticipating the value of the small, but competitive tribes who came to the region to capitalize on the wild horse trade, in 1838 <a href="/article/william-bent"><strong>William Bent</strong></a> (sometimes called “Colonel,” “Little White Man,” and “Gray Beard”) joined the Cheyenne tribe by marrying <a href="/article/mistanta-owl-woman"><strong>Owl Woman</strong></a> (Mistanta), daughter of White Thunder, the esteemed Keeper of the Arrows. Owl Woman bore four children: Mary, Robert, George, and Julia. When Owl Woman died at the birth of Julia, William continued with Cheyenne tradition and married her sister Yellow Woman, who gave birth to his fifth and last child, Charlie. At some point Yellow Woman left, so William married his third and last wife, Island, another sister of Owl Woman.</p> <p>Even though the beaver-trapping era of the mountain men and voyageurs was coming to an end in the early 1830s, the Bents and their partners, the St. Vrains, were expanding their trade empire with the construction of Bent’s Old Fort (Fort William), 1832–34. They pioneered the <a href="/article/bison"><strong>bison</strong></a> hide version of the <a href="/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a>, and by the mid-1840s the Bents were trading tens of thousands of bison hides, along with other animal hides, for consumption in the East. Bent’s Old Fort was located on the <a href="/article/santa-f%C3%A9-trail-0"><strong>Santa Fé Trail</strong></a><strong>,</strong> and this major trade route put William Bent at a pivotal point on the border of US Territory and the Mexican nation, which gained independence from Spain in 1821.</p> <p>Bent’s Old Fort was a focal point on the Santa Fé Trail, and had served for at least sixteen years as a haven for local trappers and traders until it was misused by General Stephen Watts Kearny’s Army of the West during the Mexican-American War in 1846. Kearny intended Bent’s Fort as a rallying point for preparation of the invasion of New Mexico, northern Mexico, and the expedition to California in support of Americans already living there. This did not sit well with William Bent, and in 1849 it is debated whether or not Bent actually blew up or destroyed his old fort before abandoning it. Being a consummate businessman, Bent would hardly have expended the many barrels of black powder necessary to raze the thick-walled adobe fort. Perhaps he only planted explosives enough to ruin fireplaces, cooking rooms, the well, the blacksmith’s shop, and anything else that might be of value to the federal government. A second theory is that the cholera epidemic that year may have also influenced Bent’s decision to abandon the fort.</p> <p>In 1853, photographer Solomon Nunes Carvalho mentions that “all the material saved from the fort was removed to Mr. Bent’s house, on Big Timber.” In the 1860s, a portion of the fort was renovated by the Missouri Stage Company and served as a stage stop for various companies, including Barlow and Sanderson, until the 1880s.</p> <p>In 1853, William again took to building a so-called New Fort at the “<strong>Big Timbers</strong>” section of the Arkansas River. He chose a bluff overlooking the river valley and began a new trading post there, which was situated near the camping grounds of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa, who came there regularly, according to early travelers and diarists. Comanche and some <strong>Pawnee</strong> were known to frequent the area as well. Some estimated that at any one time, there could be thousands camped in the vicinity. The New Fort established a place for negotiation and resupply for the government and its agents. It established a destination for the building of the cut-off military road from the Smoky Hill River to the Arkansas River in 1853–56. It saw the tribes gather for their annual<a href="/article/indian-annuities"> <strong>annuities</strong></a> and saw many major and minor councils held between the tribes and with the government representatives.</p> <p>In its short active life, 1853–67, Bent’s New Fort saw the conflict between whites and Native Americans rise from Sumner’s Solomon River expedition against the Cheyennes to Chivington’s atrocious attack at <a href="/article/sand-creek-massacre"><strong>Sand Creek</strong></a>. It also found itself as a jumping-off point for soldiers in campaigns against Plains Indians in the Red River War. On the other hand, it served as a destination for military and civilians who tried to maintain peaceful relations between the government and the tribes. There is no denying the key role that Bent’s two forts played in the commerce and development of southeastern Colorado.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carrillo-richard" hreflang="und">Carrillo, Richard</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/slaughter-michelle" hreflang="und">Slaughter, Michelle A.</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bents-fort-0" hreflang="en">bent&#039;s fort</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-bent" hreflang="en">william bent</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bents-old-fort" hreflang="en">bent&#039;s old fort</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bents-new-fort" hreflang="en">Bent&#039;s New Fort</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bents-fort-history" hreflang="en">bent&#039;s fort history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/owl-woman" hreflang="en">Owl Woman</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mistanta" hreflang="en">mistanta</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ceran-st-vrain" hreflang="en">Ceran St. Vrain</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fur-trade" hreflang="en">fur trade</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bison" hreflang="en">bison</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cheyenne" hreflang="en">cheyenne</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arapaho" hreflang="en">arapaho</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/trading-post" hreflang="en">trading post</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arkansas-river" hreflang="en">Arkansas River</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/otero-county" hreflang="en">otero county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/la-junta" hreflang="en">La Junta</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Richard F. Carrillo, <em>The Results of the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs 1994 and 1995 Historical Archaeology Field Schools at Boggsville Historic Site (5BN363): An Early 1860s Village in Southeastern Colorado, Bent County, Colorado</em>, ed. Thomas J. Wynn, prepared for the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County, Las Animas, Colorado and the State Historical Fund, Colorado Historical Society, Denver (Denver: History Colorado, 1997).</p> <p>Solomon Nunes Carvalho, <em>Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West with Colonel Frémont’s Last Expedition</em> (Lincoln, NE: Bison Books, 2004).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>George E. Hyde, <em>Life of George Bent</em>, ed. Savoie Lottinville (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968).</p> <p>David Lavender, <em>Bent’s Fort</em> (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1954).</p> <p>National Park Service, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/beol/index.htm">Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site</a>,” last modified November 18, 2015.</p> <p>National Park Service, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/safe/learn/historyculture/bents-new-fort.htm">Bent’s New Fort</a>,” last modified November 27, 2015.</p> <p>State Historical Society of Colorado, <em>Bent’s Old Fort</em> (Denver: State Historical Society of Colorado, 1979).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS_Bents_Old_Fort.docx">Bent's Forts Teacher Resource Set - Word&nbsp;</a></p> <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS_Bents_Old_Fort.pdf">Bent's Forts Teacher Resource Set - PDF</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>In the late 1820s, three brothers, William, Charles, and George Bent, built two <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading posts</strong></a>. These posts were located near what is today <strong>La Junta</strong>, Colorado. American, French Canadian, Spanish, and American Indian cultures mixed together in this southeastern Colorado region. The trading posts were important in starting lasting communities in this region.</p> <p>In 1838 <a href="/article/william-bent"><strong>William Bent</strong></a> joined the <strong>Cheyenne</strong> tribe by marrying <a href="/article/mistanta-owl-woman"><strong>Owl Woman</strong></a> (Mistanta), the daughter of White Thunder. Owl Woman had four children: Mary, Robert, <a href="/article/george-bent"><strong>George</strong></a>, and Julia. When Owl Woman died, William married her sister Yellow Woman. She gave birth to his fifth and last child, Charlie.</p> <p>By the early 1830s, the trading business of the Bents and their partners, the St. Vrains, was growing. They built Bent’s Old Fort, also called Fort William from 1832 to 1834. By the mid-1840s the Bents were trading many thousands of buffalo and other hides to people living in the eastern United States. Bent’s Old Fort was located on the <a href="/article/santa-f%C3%A9-trail-0"><strong>Santa Fé Trail</strong></a><strong>. </strong>It was a major trade route on the border of the US and Mexico. Bent’s Old Fort was a main point on the Santa Fé Trail for sixteen years before it was destroyed.</p> <p>In 1853, William built a New Fort at the “<strong>Big Timbers</strong>” area of the Arkansas Valley. He chose a bluff overlooking the river valley and began a new trading post there. It was located near the camping grounds of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa, who visited the fort often.</p> <p>From 1853 to 1867, those living at Bent’s New Fort saw the conflict between whites and Native Americans grow. But, it also was a place for military and civilians who tried to keep the peace between the government and the tribes. Bent’s two forts played an important part in developing southeastern Colorado.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>In the early and mid-nineteenth century three brothers moved to what would become southeastern Colorado.&nbsp; There, they created a trading and commercial empire. William, Charles, and George Bent built two <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading posts</strong></a> in southeastern Colorado that were key in the beginnings of permanent communities in the region. The Bents’ empire mixed Americans with the existing Spanish and French-Canadian influences and traditions in the region. The <strong>Kiowa</strong>, <strong>Comanche</strong>, Plains <strong>Apache</strong>, and <a href="/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> also controlled territory in the region and helped shape the southeastern Colorado’s cultural mixture.</p> <p>In 1838 <a href="/article/william-bent"><strong>William Bent</strong></a> (sometimes called “Colonel,” “Little White Man,” and “Gray Beard”) joined the Cheyenne tribe by marrying <a href="/article/mistanta-owl-woman"><strong>Owl Woman</strong></a> (Mistanta), daughter of White Thunder, the respected Keeper of the Arrows. Owl Woman had four children: Mary, Robert, <a href="/article/george-bent"><strong>George</strong></a>, and Julia. When Owl Woman died at the birth of Julia, William, in keeping with Cheyenne tradition, married her sister Yellow Woman. She gave birth to his fifth and last child, Charlie. William then married his third and last wife, Island, another sister of Owl Woman.</p> <p>Even though the beaver-trapping era of the mountain men was coming to an end in the early 1830s, the Bents and their partners, the St. Vrains, were expanding their trade empire. They built Bent’s Old Fort, also called Fort William, from 1832 to 1834. They started the buffalo hide version of the <a href="/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a>. By the mid-1840s the Bents were trading tens of thousands of buffalo hides, along with other animal hides, to people living in the East. Bent’s Old Fort was located on the <a href="/article/santa-f%C3%A9-trail-0"><strong>Santa Fé Trail</strong></a><strong>,</strong> and this major trade route put William Bent at a key point on the border of the United States and Mexico.</p> <p>Bent’s Old Fort was a central point on the Santa Fé Trail, and had served for at least sixteen years as a shelter for local trappers and traders until General <strong>Stephen Watts </strong><strong>Kearny</strong>’s Army of the West tried&nbsp; to use it as a base during the Mexican-American War in 1846. The fur trade was in decline by this time, and in 1849 the fort was destroyed. There are several theories about the destruction of the fort, but it is not known for sure what happened.</p> <p>In 1853, William again started building a so-called Bent’s New Fort at the “<strong>Big Timbers</strong>” section of the Arkansas Valley. He chose a bluff overlooking the river valley and began a new trading post there, located near the camping grounds of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa, who came there regularly. Comanche and some <strong>Pawnee</strong> were known to visit the area as well. Some thought it likely that at any one time, there could be thousands camped in the vicinity. Bent’s New Fort became a place for compromise and resupply for the government and its agents.</p> <p>In its short active life, 1853–67, Bent’s New Fort saw the conflict between whites and Native Americans increase. It served as a jumping-off point for soldiers in campaigns against Plains Indians in the Red River War. But it also became a destination for military and civilians who tried to maintain peaceful relations between the government and the tribes. There is no denying the key role that Bent’s two forts played in the commerce and development of southeastern Colorado.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>In the early and mid-nineteenth century, three men moved to what would eventually become southeastern Colorado and established a trading and commercial empire. The Bents—brothers William, Charles, and George—arrived in the area in the late 1820s, and established two <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading posts</strong></a> that were essential in the eventual establishment of permanent communities in the region.</p> <p>The Bents’ empire mixed the American influence of St. Louis and Westport, Missouri, with the existing Spanish and French Canadian influences in the region. The <strong>Kiowa</strong>, <strong>Comanche</strong>, Plains <strong>Apache</strong>, and <a href="/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> also controlled territory in southeastern Colorado and influenced the region’s cultural mix. As the Bents increased their economic power, the <strong>Cheyenne</strong> and <strong>Arapaho</strong> peoples made increasing inroads into the plains bounded by the Rockies on the west, the Platte Rivers to the north, and the <strong>Arkansas River</strong> to the south.</p> <p>In 1838 <a href="/article/william-bent"><strong>William Bent</strong></a> (sometimes called “Colonel,” “Little White Man,” and “Gray Beard”) joined the Cheyenne tribe by marrying <a href="/article/mistanta-owl-woman"><strong>Owl Woman</strong></a> (Mistanta), daughter of White Thunder, the esteemed Keeper of the Arrows. Owl Woman bore four children: Mary, Robert, <a href="/article/george-bent"><strong>George</strong></a>, and Julia. When Owl Woman died at the birth of Julia, William, in keeping with Cheyenne tradition, married her sister Yellow Woman. She gave birth to his fifth and last child, Charlie. At some point Yellow Woman left, so William married his third and last wife, Island, another sister of Owl Woman.</p> <p>Even though the beaver-trapping era of the mountain men was coming to an end in the early 1830s, the Bents and their partners, the St. Vrains, were expanding their trade empire with the construction of Bent’s Old Fort (Fort William), 1832–34. They pioneered the buffalo hide version of the <a href="/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a>, and by the mid-1840s the Bents were trading tens of thousands of buffalo hides, along with other animal hides, for consumption in the East. Bent’s Old Fort was located on the <a href="/article/santa-f%C3%A9-trail-0"><strong>Santa Fé Trail</strong></a><strong>,</strong> and this major trade route put William Bent at a pivotal point on the border between the United States and Mexico.</p> <p>Bent’s Old Fort was a focal point on the Santa Fé Trail, and had served for at least sixteen years as a haven for local trappers and traders until General <strong>Stephen Watts </strong><strong>Kearny</strong>’s Army of the West misused it during the Mexican-American War in 1846. Kearny intended Bent’s Fort as a rallying point for preparation of the invasion of New Mexico (northern Mexico) and the expedition to California in support of Americans already living there. This did not sit well with William Bent, who was a lifelong friend of the Indians. The fur trade was in decline by that time, and in 1849 it was debated whether or not Bent actually blew up his old fort before abandoning it. A second theory is that the cholera epidemic that year may have also influenced Bent’s decision to abandon the fort.</p> <p>In 1853 photographer Solomon Nunes Carvalho mentioned that “all the material saved from the fort was removed to Mr. Bent’s house, on Big Timber.” In the 1860s, a portion of the fort was renovated by the Missouri Stage Company and served as a stage stop for various companies, including Barlow and Sanderson, until the 1880s.</p> <p>In 1853, William again took to building a so-called New Fort at the “<strong>Big Timbers</strong>” section of the Arkansas Valley. He chose a bluff overlooking the river valley and began a new trading post there, which was situated near the camping grounds of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa, who came there regularly, according to early travelers and diarists. Comanche and some <strong>Pawnee</strong> were known to frequent the area as well. Some estimated that at any one time, there could be thousands camped in the vicinity. The New Fort established a place for negotiation and resupply for the government and its agents. It established a destination for the building of the cut-off military road from the Smoky Hill River to the Arkansas River in 1853–56.</p> <p>In its short active life, 1853–67, Bent’s New Fort saw the rising conflict between whites and Native Americans from Sumner’s Solomon River expedition against the Cheyenne to Chivington’s atrocious attack at <strong>Sand Creek</strong>. It was also a jumping-off point for soldiers in campaigns against Plains Indians in the Red River War. On the other hand, it served as a destination for military and civilians who tried to maintain peaceful relations between the government and the tribes. There is no denying the key role that Bent’s two forts played in the commerce and development of southeastern Colorado.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 06 May 2016 16:52:40 +0000 Nick Johnson 1327 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org