Fort Saint Vrain was an 1837 fur

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

built by the Bent, St. Vrain Company, and located at the confluence of

Saint Vrain Creek St. Vrain Creek (often known locally as the St. Vrain River) is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 25, 2011 ...

and the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. It ...

, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

in the unorganized territory of the United States, in present-day

Weld County Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denv ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. A historical marker notes the place where Old Fort St. Vrain once stood, today at the end of Weld County Road 40, located about seven miles north of

Fort Vasquez Fort Vasquez is a former fur trading post northeast of Denver, Colorado, United States, founded by Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette in 1835. Restored by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, it now lies in a rather incongruous positi ...

. Among those who helped to establish the fort was Ceran St. Vrain, after whom it was named.

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

, governor of the territory, granted the Bent, St. Vrain Co. a license to trade on November 8, 1836. Like neighboring forts, the structure was built as a two-story adobe structure whose walls encased an interior courtyard. It accommodated trade with Native American tribes and mountain men engaged in fur trapping. It resembled the adobe building and plaza reconstructed at

and Bent's Old Fort. Marcellin St. Vrain, Ceran's brother, managed the

. He employed such notable people as

James Beckwourth James Pierson Beckwourth (born Beckwith, April 26, 1798 or 1800 – October 29, 1866 or 1867), was an American mountain man, fur trader, and explorer. Beckwourth was known as "Bloody Arm" because of his skill as a fighter. He was mixed-race and ...

, a mountain man, and

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (February 11, 1805 – May 16, 1866) was a Native American-French Canadian explorer, guide, fur trapper, trader, military scout during the Mexican–American War, ''alcalde'' (mayor) of Mission San Luis Rey de Fran ...

, who was born to

Sacajewea Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812 or April 9, 1884)Sacagawea
...

during the 1804-1806

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. She accompanied the expedition with her husband, trader & trapper Toussaint Charbonneau as well as newborn Jean Baptiste, while filling the crucial role of translator to the Shoshone Indian tribe. After the

Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt was a populist insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and severa ...

in 1847, the St. Vrain brothers both returned to St. Louis. After Ceran St. Vrain sold his shares of the Bent, St. Vrain Co., William Bent became sole proprietor by 1849. Bent moved to Fort St. Vrain temporarily before building a new Fort Bent in the Big Timbers area.

References

*Whiteley, Lee; ''The Cherokee Trail: Bent's Old Fort to Fort Bridger''; Lee Whiteley; 1999; Johnson Printing; Boulder, Colorado; *Brotemarkle, Diane; ''Old Fort St. Vrain''; Diane Brotemarkle; 2001; Johnson Printing; Boulder, Colorado; *Ubbelohde, Carl; Benson, Maxine; Smith, Duane A; ''A Colorado History: Third Edition''; 1972; Pruett Publishing Co; Boulder Colorado {{Authority control Landmarks in Colorado Fur trade Saint Vrain Buildings and structures in Weld County, Colorado Adobe buildings and structures 1837 establishments in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 1837 Trading posts in the United States