Fort Vasquez

Fort Vasquez (1835-1842) - A fur trading post established in 1835 by Louis Vasquez and Andrew W. Sublette in Weld County, Colorado. Abandoned in 1842. Fort Vasquez Marker Fort Vasquez South Wall Interior Fort Vasquez South Entrance History Fort Vasquez was built by Mexican laborers under the supervision of Louis Vasquez and Andrew W. Sublette as a 100' by 125' adobe trading post with 12' high walls. In operation the post was run by Louis Vasquez, Andrew Sublette transported the trade goods and furs to and from St. Louis. It took as many 22 employees to run the post and the trading/trapping operations. The operation was not a financial success because of the competition in the immediate vicinity. Four trading posts were established along a 15 mile stretch of the South Platte River in present day Weld County. The four posts were competitors for the same furs trapped by both Indians and anglo fur trappers. The primary furs involved were buffalo hides. Fort Vasquez (1835-1842) Louis Vasquez and Andrew W. Sublette, Rocky Mountain Fur Company Fort Lupton (1836-1845) Lancaster P. Lupton Fort Jackson (1837-1839) Henry Fraeb and Peter A. Sarpy, Pratte, Chouteau Company Fort St Vrain (1837-1844) Bent, St. Vrain & Company These four posts were located roughly midway between Bents Old Fort on the Arkansas River and Fort William (1834-1845) at the junction of the Laramie River and the North Platte River (later known as Fort Laramie). In 1840 Fort Vasquez shipped 700 buffalo robes to St. Louis compared to the 15,000 that the Bent, St. Vrain & Company shipped. The fort was sold for $800 in 1840 to two traders who subsequently abandoned the post in 1842 without paying Vasquez and Sublette. Current Status Fort Vasquez Bison Statue Part of the Colorado Historical Society museum system, Weld County, Colorado. Includes a museum, a WPA reproduction of the old fort and a monumental bronze statue of a bison. The fort reproduction has a walled outline of the fort's exterior walls but no interior details. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: In the Highway 85 median between the northbound and southbound lanes, Weld County, Colorado. Maps & Images Lat: 40.194618 Long: -104.820841 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 4,823' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 115 Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 46 Links: North American Forts - Fort Vasquez Visited: 29 Sep 2011