[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 17, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6713-S6714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF FORT LARAMIE

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 175th 
anniversary of the founding of Fort Laramie, the first permanent 
settlement in what would become the State of Wyoming.
  In the spring of 1834, William Sublette led a supply caravan to the 
annual fur trappers' rendezvous held on the Ham's Fork of the Green 
River. On May 30, 1834, Sublette and his men paused to camp at the 
confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers. It was here that 
Sublette and his partner, Robert Campbell, agreed to build a new 
trading post. Their intent was to dominate the central Rocky Mountain 
fur trade. William Marshall Anderson wrote in his diary, ``This day we 
laid the foundation log of a fort.'' That log would be the cornerstone 
of the first permanent settlement in the future State of Wyoming. 
Sublette's trading post was officially named Fort William, although it 
was commonly referred to as the fort on Laramie's Fork or Fort Laramie.
  Fort William was humble in size, measuring only 100 feet by 80 feet. 
The palisade was formed by 15-foot hewn cottonwood logs. There were log 
blockhouses located at diagonal corners. A third blockhouse, with 
mounted cannon, was over the main gate. Inside the fort was a series of 
cabins and storehouses with flat tops that nearly reached the top of 
the fort's walls. The fort's small size was in contrast to the large 
role it would play in American history.
  The fort eventually became one of the principal trading centers with 
the Indian tribes of the Northern Plains, especially the Oglala and 
Sicangu Lakota. The beaver trade was already in decline at the time of 
Fort William's construction. Campbell and Sublette recognized that the 
future of the fur trade lay not in trapping, but in trading with the 
native peoples of the plains for buffalo robes. Each spring, caravans 
arrived at the fort with trade goods. In the fall, tons of buffalo 
hides and other furs were shipped east.
  By 1841, the cottonwood log walls of Fort William had already begun 
to deteriorate and were in need of replacement. The owners of the fort 
erected a new adobe walled trading post nearby, naming it Fort John. 
Like its predecessor, however, it was popularly referred to as Fort 
Laramie. As the buffalo robe trade declined, the number of emigrants 
passing on their way to California, Oregon, and Utah grew from a 
trickle to a torrent. The fort rapidly became a major weigh station 
along the emigrant trails. As a result, the U.S. Government purchased 
the fort in 1849 and officially named it Fort Laramie.
  Over the years, Fort Laramie filled a variety of roles as one of the 
largest and most important military post on the Northern Plains. The 
Northern Plains tribes fiercely defended their homeland against 
settlement by an ever-expanding Nation. Numerous military campaigns 
were launched from the fort. Important treaty negotiations with Indian 
tribes were also conducted at the fort. The most famous of these were 
the Horse Creek Treaty of 1851 and the still contested Treaty of 1868.
  Eventually, Fort Laramie became a center of commerce for local 
homesteaders and ranchers. Fort Laramie saw rapid advances in 
communication and transportation technology. The Pony Express, the 
Transcontinental Telegraph, and stage lines passed through the fort. 
Fort Laramie truly became the ``Crossroads of a Nation Moving West.''

[[Page S6714]]

  With the end of the Indian wars, Fort Laramie's usefulness to the 
government rapidly faded. The fort was abandoned in 1890 and sold at 
public auction. Fort Laramie slowly deteriorated over the next 48 years 
and nearly succumbed to the ravages of time. On July 16, 1938, 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation creating the Fort 
Laramie National Monument. With the determined efforts of local 
citizens and Wyoming State legislators, the preservation of the site is 
secure. The fort was redesignated a National Historic Site by an act of 
Congress on April 29, 1960. It was listed on the National Register of 
Historic Places in 1966. In 1978, it was expanded to its present size 
of 835 acres by an act of Congress.
  The Fort Laramie National Historic Site is administered by the 
National Park Service and is open to the public throughout the year. 
Interpretive programs are offered with living history talks and 
demonstrations available in the summer months. These programs offer 
visitors a chance to experience life on the frontier.
  The site has an intensive preservation program to ensure the 
integrity of the historic structures for generations to come. Ten 
historic buildings have been completely restored and refurnished. These 
allow visitors a rare glimpse into the daily workings of a 19th century 
Indian Wars military post. The ruins and foundations of numerous other 
buildings are also preserved at this nationally significant historic 
treasure.
  In celebration of the 175th anniversary of the founding of Fort 
Laramie, I invite my colleagues to visit the Fort Laramie National 
Historic Site. I congratulate the staff and volunteers whose dedication 
makes this piece of our history available to visitors from all over the 
world.

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