City of Torrington
"An equal opportunity employer"
436 East 22nd Avenue Torrington, WY 82240
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City of Torrington
"An equal opportunity employer" 436 East 22nd Avenue Torrington, WY 82240 |
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You are invited to attend the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the founding of Fort William...June 19-21, 2009 May 31, 1834 - This day we laid the foundation log of a fort, on Laramee's fork...William Marshall Anderson In 1834, William Sublette led his caravan in a race against Nathaniel Wyeth to supply the annual trapper's rendezvous. The caravan consisted of 36 men and 90 pack animals. He paused on May 30th and camped at the mouth of "Laramee's Fork" to construct a trading post that he hoped would dominate the central Rocky Mountain fur trade. He would name the post Fort William. Sublette left behind a work crew of 14 men to build the post. Constructed of hewn cottonwood logs it measured only 100 x 80 feet. With the beaver trade already in decline at the time of the post's founding, Sublette and his partner Robert Campbell recognized that the future of the fur trade lay in trading with Native Americans for buffalo robes. Each spring caravans arrived at the fort with trade goods and left each fall with buffalo hides and other furs bound for eastern markets. This year marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of Fort William and the establishment of the first permanent settlement in what is now Wyoming. Please come and help us commemorate this historic occasion. Sincerely, Mitzi Frank Superintendent, Fort Laramie National Historic Site SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE Friday, JUNE 19, 2009 TALL TALES OF THE FUR TRADE - You are invited to attend an evening around the campfire to listen to "tall tales of the fur trade" presented by re-enactors in period clothes. this is a story-telling competition where the audience chooses the best "yarn spinner". Fort Laramie National Historic Site picnic area. 7-9 PM Saturday, JUNE 20, 2009 LIVING HISTORY CAMP 8 AM - 6 PM* FORMAL PRESENTATIONS 9:45 AM - 4:30 PM SPECIAL POST OFFICE CANCELLATION 11 AM - 3 PM 9:45 AM Welcome/Introductions 10:00 AM Dr. James Hansen - "My Thoughts are Always of Those Days: The Epic Story of the Great Plains Fur Trade" 11:00 AM Dr. Barton Barbour - "An Introduction to the Fur Trade at Fort William/Fort Laramie, 1834-1849" 12:00 PM Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout - "Across the Wide Missouri: The Music of the Fur Trade" LUNCH** 1:30 PM William "Bill" Gwaltney - "Beyond the Pale: African Americans in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade" 2:30 PM Gail DeBuse Potter - "Women of the Western Fur Trade" 3:30 PM Dr. Gerard Baker- "The Five villages of the Upper Missouri: The Original Fur Traders" 4:30 PM Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout - "Across the Wide Missouri: Misic of the Fur Trade" *Living History Camp - Meet with living history demonstrators as they recreate the 1834 camp of William Sublette, fur trader and founder of Fort William, the first Fort Laramie. **Food Service available all day. Sunday, JUNE 21, 2009 LIVING HISTORY CAMP 9 AM - 2:30 PM* FORMAL PRESENTATIONS 9 AM - 2:30 PM SPECIAL POST OFFICE CANCELLATION 11 AM - 3 PM 9:00 AM Jane and Robert Dorn, Bird Walk. Follow in the footsteps of John Kirk Townsend's 1834 Expedition. Meet in the parking lot at the Old Iron Bridge. Bring binoculars, mosquito repellent and wear sturdy walking shoes. 10:00 AM Dr. Danny Walker - "The Mixed-blood Progeny of the Mountaineers Associated with Fort William" 12:00 PM Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout Lunch** 1:30 PM Doyle Reid - "Formidable Men and Heroes: The Forgotten Delaware Mountaineers" 2:30 PM Rex A Norman - "Legacy on the Laramie: How Fort William and the Fur Trade Shaped a Westering Nation" 3:30 PM Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout *Living History Camp - Meet with living history demonstrators as they recreate the 1834 camp of William Sublette, fur trader and founder of Fort William, the first Fort Laramie. **Food Service available all day.
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