Fort Laramie National Historic Site in eastern Wyoming is a rare, overlooked outpost in the National Park System. It's not the only 19th century fort in the system, but it is richly steeped in Western history, from the fur trappers and the cavalry to the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express. During a recent visit, Kurt Repanshek and Fort Laramie Ranger Clayton Hanson walked the grounds. In this week's episode, the first of two episodes, they started at the approximate site of original Fort William and headed over to the sutler's store.
Fort Laramie as it appeared in 1870. The two-story Old Bedlam can be seen in the back row of buildings/NPS archives
Old Bedlam in a deteriorating condition around 1935/NPS archives
Comments
As a former ranger of Fort Laramie National Historic Site, i would say that this is an enjoyable walking tour of an incredible resource save for one thing: the facts. Knowing the facts of your site and knowing them as well as you know your own name is IMPORTANT when interpreting a historic site. The thing to remember is that people believe what we tell them. Our desire is to hopefully represent to them the truth as well as we know it. It takes years of study to accomplish that goal, digesting the material written by "the greats" of Fort Laramie history. Individuals such as Robert Utley, Paul Hedren, Douglas McChristian, Jerome Green, John McDermott, Patricia Stallard and others are ESSENTIAL to the understanding of life at Fort Laramie, "The Queen of the Northern Plains". This tour is a good place to START. Keep after it young interpreter!