History Colorado

Between 1833 and 1849, weary Santa Fe Trail travelers cheered when they saw Bent's Fort - a marketplace like no other. Before Colorado was even a state, Bent's Fort was a hub of activity and a place where goods from around the world could be traded for or purchased.

This site northeast of La Junta once contained Bent’s Old Fort, an important trading post near the Arkansas River along the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.  Constructed around 1833 by brothers Charles and William Bent and partner Ceran St. Vrain, the fort occupied an area that at that time was the border between the United States and newly independent Mexico. The fort became the focus where Hispano, Euro-American, and the various Plains Indian tribes, including the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Arapaho, Comanche, interacted as well as the Ute. The reconstructed adobe fort on the historic site dates to the mid-1970s.

Map of Colorado Territory, embracing the Central Gold Region. Drawn by F.J. Ebert under direction of the Governor W. Gilpin. Colorado, its resources, parks and prospects as a new field for emigration.

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Map of Colorado Territory

Bent’s Fort: Colorado’s First Trade Center

Explore the most important settlement in Colorado during the mid 1800s!

Explore the Fort

Draw the 4 main trade routes on the map: Santa Fe Trail, American Indian Trade Networks, El Camino Real, Overseas Routes

Draw the Trade Routes!

They wandered the uncharted Rocky Mountains, they went in harm’s way, and they captured the imagination of Americans, then and now. But the mountain men were neither so free nor so independent as their legend insists. They toiled at the end of a long economic chain that stretched from the icy beaver ponds of the Rockies to the uncertain fashion markets of New York and London. Then in the 1840s, the supply of beaver ran out, and hat fashion changed from fur to silk. Suddenly, the day of the mountain men was done. Kit Carson became a guide, Jim Baker a rancher, and Thomas Fitzpatrick an Indian agent. Others were unable to fit in, forever of the move, always on the fringe of society, misfits to the end.

Famous Mountain Men

During the Great Depression, History Colorado hired unemployed artists through the Works Progress Administration to do many tasks, including create dioramas. These images are from the Winter Camp, Summer Rendezvous, and River Trading dioramas created between 1934 and 1941.

Trapping and Trading: A Diorama

Starting in the 1600s, furs and hides were traded among American Indians, Canadians, Spaniards, and English, French and Russian traders. Follow the history of the fur trade in Colorado from 1600 to 1850!

Fur Trade in Colorado Timeline

Goods from all over the world made their way to Bent's Fort long before highways, railroads, cars, and airplanes. You could find tea from China, glass beads from Italy and France, sugar from Mexico, or Hudson Bay blankets from Canada. How did all of these fabulous goods make their way to an adobe fort on the arid plains, 600 miles from the United States?

1848 Trade Routes

Mountain men camped and trapped alone in the mountains throughout the winter, so they carried everything they needed with them to get them through to the following spring. They did most of their hunting during the winter, because beaver furs were thickest. Here are some of the important supplies that mountain men used in order to survive. Image: Gear spread

Mountain Man Gear

The United States looked very different in the early 1800s. Much of what we now know as the United States of America were territories that belonged to other countries. Here are some maps of what Colorado and the surrounding territories looked like at the time. Can you imagine what it would be like to explore these areas as a trader? What are three things that are different about these maps compared to the maps we see today?

Historic Maps of the Colorado Territory

During the era of the mountain men, people of many different cultures came together to trade furs, goods, and information. How did people live during this period of time? What role did Bent’s Fort play in international trade? How did beliefs and prejudices affect how people were treated and cultural relations? Explore this brief, but important, era in our history!

Location! Location! On the Santa Fe Trail at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site

Location! Location! On the Santa Fe National Historic trail at Pecos National Historic Park

Educator’s Guide to Bent’s Fort- International Trade during the Fur Trade Era

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Bent's Fort and the Fur Trade

Bent’s Fort: Colorado’s First Trade Center