The Caspar Collins Map Collection

Fort Laramie

This fort was built in 1834, and at the time was called Fort William. After sale to a fur trading company in 1835, it was renamed Fort John. The current name came about as the result of a clerical error by a shipping clerk in St. Louis who wrote "Fort Laramie" on boxes rather than the proper "Fort John on the Laramie." One of the pivotal sites for emigrants and travelers to the West, Fort Laramie was the first permanent settlement of white men in Wyoming. Nearly every group traveling from east to west stopped here for supplies. The United States government bought the fort in 1849 and established it as a military post. In the 1860s Fort Laramie was used as a stopping point for emigrants, a military post, and a location for business with Indian tribes to be conducted. The fort was abandoned in 1890 by the military and its buildings were auctioned off. In 1937, the state of Wyoming bought the land and the remaining ruins and the site were declared a national monument in 1938. (Urbanek, pp.70-71)

Caspar Collins' map of Fort Laramie measures 38 x 27 inches and is encapsulated on poster board and covered with mylar. The map is on linen and has been marked by time with wrinkles and dirt stains. This map was at one time folded in half, and ink from the opposite side of the map is visible where it leaked through. There are two small holes in the upper left corner, but they do not interfere with any of the original drawings. This map has a compass guide and is colored, but does not include a legend. It is scaled at 60 feet to the inch.

Today, the old site of Fort Laramie is preserved as the Fort Laramie National Historic Site by the National Park Service. Less than ten miles away sits the town of Fort Laramie, with a population of around 300.