Bent's Fort

Trade Room at Bent's Fort

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

35110 State Highway 194 E. La Junta, CO 81050

Significance:

A center of commercial, social, military, and cultural exchange along the Santa Fe Trail.

Designation:

National Historic Site; National Historic Landmark; National Register of Historic Places

Amenities

37 listed

Accessible Rooms, Accessible Sites, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Baby Changing Station, Benches/Seating, Captioned Media, Cellular Signal, Entrance Passes for Sale, Fire Extinguisher, Fire Pit, First Aid Kit Available, Food/Drink - Snacks, Food/Drink - Vending Machine/Self Service, Gifts/Souvenirs/Books, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Hitching Post/Corral, Information, Information - Maps Available, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Large Print, Open Captioning, Parking - Auto, Parking - Boat Trailer, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Recycling, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Theater/Auditorium, Ticket Sales, Toilet - Flush, Trailhead, Water - Drinking/Potable, Wheelchair Accessible

For much of its 16-year operation as a trading post, Bent’s Fort was the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements. William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original adobe fort in 1833 for trade with local Native American tribes and trappers for buffalo robes. Situated along the northern bank of the Arkansas river in what is now southeastern Colorado, the fort quickly became the center of the expanding holdings of Bent, St. Vrain & Company. Soon, it was also an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail’s mountain route and a center for commercial, social, military, and cultural exchange. 

The fort brought together trappers from the southern Rocky Mountains, Anglo-American travelers from Missouri and the east, Hispanic traders from Mexico, and Native Americans, primarily from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and Kiowa Tribes. In addition to trading prospects, the fort also provided weary travelers, such as those following the Santa Fe Trail, with a place to get needed supplies and rest. During the war with Mexico in 1846, the fort became a staging area for Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny's "Army of the West." Disasters and disease caused the fort's abandonment in 1849.

Although the original fort no longer stands, at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site the fort has been reconstructed and is open to the public. The site preserves the resources associated with the Bent–St. Vrain trading empire and provides visitors with the opportunity to explore the trading post’s complex history.