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5 unusual facts about Fort Laramie


Bozeman Pass

It is named after pioneer John Bozeman, a young Georgian who opened the Bozeman Trail from Fort Laramie, Wyoming to Virginia City, Montana in 1863, via the pass which now bears his name.

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

The river was named “Laramie” in his honor, and the name would later be given to the Laramie Mountains, the fort, and the towns of Laramie, Wyoming and Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

The fort's site is located on the opposite bank of the location of the town of Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and both were later renamed to match the rivers eponym.

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

The town is named after historic Fort Laramie, an important stop on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails as well as a staging point for various military excursions.

North Platte Project

Near Fort Laramie the Whalen Diversion Dam diverts water into Fort Laramie Canal and Interstate Canal which distribute water to farms in Wyoming and Nebraska.


Black-tailed deer

In Francis Parkman's The Oregon Trail, an eyewitness account of his 1846 trek across the early West, while within a two-day ride from Fort Laramie, Parkman writes of shooting what he believes to be an elk, only to discover he has killed a black-tailed deer.

Early history of the Arkansas Valley in Colorado

Simpson was side-tracked from his westward journey at Fort Laramie when he was invited by William S. Williams to join a company of fur trappers.

Fetterman Fight

In June 1866, Colonel Henry B. Carrington advanced from Fort Laramie into the Powder River country, the hunting grounds of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho.

Jacques La Ramee

A number of sites in Wyoming are named for him, including the Laramie River, the city of Laramie, Fort Laramie, Laramie Peak, and Laramie County, Wyoming.

Route of the Oregon Trail

Those traveling south of the Platte crossed the South Platte River with its muddy and treacherous crossings using one of about three ferries (in dry years it could sometimes be forded without a ferry) before continuing up the North Platte River valley to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming.

Those traveling south of the Platte crossed the South Platte fork at one of about three ferries (in dry years it could be forded without a ferry) before continuing up the North Platte River valley into present-day Wyoming heading to Fort Laramie.


see also

Fetterman Fight

On November 25, 1866, Carrington was ordered by his superior, General Philip St. George Cooke at Fort Laramie to take the offensive against the Indians in response to their "murderous and insulting attacks".

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

The earliest surviving photograph of Fort Laramie, taken in 1858 by Samuel C. Mills, shows the remains of the old adobe walled fur trade fort (Fort John) flanked by a cluster of scattered wood and adobe buildings around the parade grounds.

In 1815 or 1816, Jacques La Ramee and a small group of fellow trappers settled in the area where Fort Laramie would later be located.

Mormon Trail

While at Fort Laramie, the vanguard company was joined by members of the Mormon Battalion, who had been excused due to illness and sent to winter in Pueblo, Colorado, and a group of Church members from Mississippi.