National Parks Traveler Episode 114: Walking The Grounds Of Fort Laramie

By Kurt Repanshek - April 18th, 2021

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/NPS archives

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

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
:48 Red Clay - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Grand Canyon
:56 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
1:27 Interior Federal Credit Union
2:05 Washington’s National Park Fund
2:42 Friends of Acadia
3:15 Kurt Repanshek explores Fort Laramie National Historic Site with Park Guide Clayton Hanson
13:50 Oh Susanna - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Grand Canyon
24:35 Shenandoah - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Shenandoah
24:50 National Parks Traveler
25:02 Western National Parks Association
25:25 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
25:47 North Cascades Institute
26:06 Potrero Group
26:37 Kurt's exploration of Fort Laramie with Clayton Hanson continues
36:35 The Horsemen - Randy Petersen - The Spirit of South Dakota
36:53 Episode Closing
37:15 Orange Tree Productions
37:49 Splitbeard Productions
38:01 National Parks Traveler footer

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

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Submitted by Natalie McCormick on October 9, 2021 - 7:04pm.

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!

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