Fort Vasquez

[Whiskeytangofoxtrot]

Have driven by fort Vasquez near Platteville several times since I moved to Colorado and never took the time to check it out until a couple of weeks ago.

Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette built this trading post ( fort) in 1835 after obtaining a trading license from William Clark who was the superintendent of Indian affairs in St Louis MO., making this fort the oldest official business in eastern Colorado.

Beaver population as well as other fur bearing animals was aready in decline in 1835 and due to this they were unable to turn a profit an sold the fort in 1840 to two men named Lock and Randolph who went bankrupt in 1842, at which time the fort was abandoned.

It lay in ruins for almost 100 years then in the 1930s it was picked as one of the WPA sites as part of FDR's square deal,from the remains of 2 walls they rebuilt the fort as it stands today.

[padre]

Now  reopened June thu SEPTEMBER.

[Red Badger]

Hmmm time for some research, I thought Bent's Fort was the first in that region....