Show old fort laramie proclaimed national Mon monument old fort laramie in byorn wyoming ing army general headquarters during the indian wars on the plains and longtime long time capital of the wilderness west of the missouri mis river has been proclaimed a national monument the score of crumbling buildings that still mark its site at the junction of the laramie and north nor th platte rivers are to be preserved and restored as a memorial to the dauntless traders and soldiers who maintained this greatest of all refuges along the covered wagon trail by means of which the west was won the first known white men to visit the site were members of the stuart party of the astoriano Ast in the winter of 1812 13 later it was a fur trading post in 1849 the united states army purchased port fort laramie in order to establish authority over the streams of emigrants who were passing through the tort fort en route to california by 1865 the indian situation became so troublesome that fort laramie was made general headquarters of the military district of the plains when the arteries of cental commerce shifted to the south and the indians were subdued and either confined to reservations or transported to other parts of the country fort laramie languished and in 1886 its abandonment was recommended the last troops marched out of the old foi fort rt in in 1889 and the military reservation w was restored to the public domain the following year although half a century has passed since the stars and stripes waved over the historic old fort since which time the place has been in the hands of various private owners many of the stout old buildings still stand including a part of original fort john and bedlam the bachelor officers quarters erected in 1852 together with scotts bluff na national tion monument located 60 miles to the east fort laramie pre preserves two of the most famous landmarks on the oregon trail the mormon trail the overland trail the route of the pony express the overland stage and the first transcontinental telegraph lire line |