The epic story of America's western expansion played out on a grand scale at Fort Laramie, where the North Platte and Laramie Rivers meet.
Fort Laramie was first established in 1834 as a private fur trading post. By the 1840's, it served as an important way station for thousands of emigrants traveling the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer trails. After purchase by the government in 1849, it rapidly became the primary military post on the Northern Plains. Stage lines, the Pony Express, and the telegraph all passed through the post. Fort Laramie hosted several treaty negotiations with Northern Plains tribes, including the still controversial and contested Treaty of 1868. From the fort, the U.S. military launched major campaigns against the tribes, who fiercely defended their homeland. As the Indian Wars came to a close, Fort Laramie's importance diminished. The post was abandoned and sold at public auction in 1890.
The State of Wyoming purchased the property in 1937 and preservation of the site was secured in 1938 when the State donated Fort Laramie to the National Park Service. Fort Laramie National Historic Site is located 3 miles southwest of the town of Fort Laramie on State Highway 160.
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