Fort Saint Vrain was an 1837

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

built by the Bent, St. Vrain Company, and located at the confluence of Saint Vrain Creek 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 Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...

, 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 great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in the

unorganized territory of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations in th ...

, in present-day Weld County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. 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,

. 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 Misso ...

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

. He employed such notable people as James Beckwourth, a mountain man, and

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (February 11, 1805 – May 16, 1866), sometimes known in childhood as Pompey or Little Pomp, was an American explorer, guide, Animal trapping, fur trapper, trader, military scout during the Mexican–American War, ''alcal ...

, who was born to Sacajewea 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 gro ...

. 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 popular 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 William Wells Bent (May 23, 1809 – May 19, 1869) was a merchant, frontier trader and rancher in the American West, with forts in Colorado. He also acted as a mediator among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding U ...

became sole proprietor by 1849. Bent moved to Fort St. Vrain temporarily before building a new Fort Bent in the Big Timbers area.

Notes

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

External links

State of Colorado

Weld County

History Colorado
{{authority control 1837 establishments in unorganized territory of the United States Adobe buildings and structures Former populated places in Colorado Former populated places in Weld County, Colorado Saint Vrain Fur trade Geography of Weld County, Colorado Trading posts in Colorado

See also

Notes

References

External links