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| Landmark #GO0004.91 | Goshen County | Visited: June 10, 2017 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A metal sign and an old wall! |
| What makes it historical? | THE PLAQUE SAYS: A trading post built by Lancaster P. Lupton in 1841 stood fifty yards to the north. Placed by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming, July, 1951.
OTHER TIDBITS: Did you know that Lieutenant Lancaster Platt Lupton had no experience in fur trading at all? The annual mountain man rendezvous was coming to an end, being replaced by stationary forts, and Mr. Lupton saw an opportunity to trade furs along the Platte River! He started with Fort Lancaster in 1837, but his first fort struggled because the southern part of the Platte River was too shallow to carry supplies by boat! To ease that frustration, he built Fort Platte upriver, where he could receive shipments by boat and carry them overland to Fort Lancaster. The strategy only worked for about two years until Mr. Lupton had to cut his losses and sell Fort Platte to the firm of Sybille, Adams & Co, who were then only able to keep it for another two years before selling to Pratte and Cabanné! As the fur trade declined, the fort turned to selling whiskey to the Sioux, leading to the death of one of their chiefs. Meanwhile, Mr. Lupton withdrew to Fort Lancaster, which he had set up as a sort of self-sustainable farm. Unfortunately, he was only able to sustain it until a huge blizzard in 1844 forced him to move his family south toward modern Pueblo, Colorado. He caught the gold bug in 1849 and moved to California, where he mined at Coloma and Greenwood, but ultimately settled into farming, first in San Joaquin County, then in Humboldt County! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| How do I find it? | Listed Directions: North side of Wash 160, 0.1 minles west of Rd 15 Fort Laramie, WY 82212 Annotations: From Casper: ~124mi (200km) — 2.1hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |