Weller Family: Bent's Old Fort

Last week as National Park week. Mac and I took the drive to La Junta to check out Bent's Old Fort, a place we didn't even know anything about before last week.

Bent's Old Fort was one of the significant centers of fur trade on the Sante Fe Trail. Built by brothers Charles and William Bent in 1833, the fort was the leading industry west of the Mississippi in the early 1830s.

The Fort was located on the Arkansas River, the international boundary between Mexico on the south side and the US on the north.

Mac is so strong!

View inside the center of the fort

Mac warming up by the camp fire

The Park Ranger talking about the history of the fort

Council Room:

A neutral ground for Indian peace councils

and where terms of trade were agreed upon

Trade room, also called the general store

Servers trapped, traders, Indians, labor force, travelers, soldiers

Dining Room

It was a treat to sit down and eat like "civilized" people

A long with dining this room was used for other functions

Kitchen

William Bent's Quarters

Indian Agent Thomas Fitzpatrick's Quarters

Winter Count

A large painted elk hide that contains a Cheyenne picture history. The paintings depict events like a meteor shower in 1833 called "the night the starts fell", the murder of Charles Bent, and outbreaks of measles and whooping cough