The Five Forts

Starting on May 29, 1835 , Lieutenant Lancaster Lupton accompanied an Army expedition commanded by Colonel Henry Dodge out of Fort Leavenworth. The expedition traveled to the South Platte River region with the purpose of promoting peace amongst the Indian tribes living in this region. During this time, Lupton became familiar with the geography, peoples, rivers and resources of the area.

Sometime after returning to Fort Leavenworth, Lieutenant Lupton was reported to have made derogatory remarks about President Andrew Jackson. Faced with the possibility of being court martialed, Lupton resigned his commission in the Army. Based on his experience in the South Platte River region, he determined to form a fur trading company, to be known as the Lupton Fur Company. In early spring of 1836 he returned to a site along the South Platte River where he established Fort Lancaster. Using Indian and Mexican labor, the fort was constructed of adobe. The fort would also be known as Fort Lupton. The fort was located at some distance from Taos, and was far removed from St. Louis, leading to supply difficulties. Heavy goods were brought in from St. Louis by way of the Santa Fe trail, up as far as Bents Fort and thence northwesterly to the South Platte. Attempts to supply the fort by shipping goods by water up the South Platte River were a failure due to the shallow character of that river. Independent traders out of Taos did provide some goods and supplies. In order to reduce expenses, Lancaster Lupton did everything possible to make the fort self-sufficient in terms of food-stuffs. Hogs, cattle and poultry were raised at the fort, and gardening provided vegetables. Lupton’s supply situation eased somewhat in 1840, when goods could be brought up along the North Platte River to Fort Platte and thence packed overland down to Fort Lupton.

Fort Lupton was situated between Fort Laramie, owned by the American Fur Company to the north, and Bent’s Fort, operated by the Bent & St. Vrain Company to the south. This map shows the locations of forts active in this area at this time. It was a strategic location designed to intercept all of the trade moving in a north-south direction along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains . Both the American Fur Company and the Bent & St. Vrain Company reacted swiftly to the commercial threat posed by Fort Lupton. In less than one year there would be three additional forts constructed within a fifteen mile reach of the South Platte River, Fort Jackson, Fort St. Vrain, and Fort Vasquez.

The American Fur Company, by then owners of Fort Laramie, responded by constructing Fort Jackson six miles north of Fort Lupton in the spring of 1837. The fort was supplied overland through Fort Laramie, and was under the able management of Peter Sarpy and Henry Fraeb. The precise location of this post is uncertain today, and it is quite likely that it was intended only as a temporary concern to put commercial pressure on both Lancaster Lupton and Bent & St. Vrain Company.

Fort Vasquez was established in 1837 (the Fort may have been established as early as 1835) by Louis Vasquez, a famous trader and former employee of William Sublette, and by Andrew Sublette, a younger brother of William Sublette. This post, constructed of adobe, was located several miles north of Fort Jackson. This operation was financed by William Sublette and Robert Campbell, who had previously sold Fort William (later known as Fort Laramie) to the American Fur Company. Fort Vasquez was supplied by overland routes from Taos and from St. Louis via the Santa Fe Trail similar to Fort Lupton. Although the post initially did a brisk business, the firm of Vasquez and Sublette was doomed to failure from the beginning due to the torrid competition from the three other posts in the immediate area. Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette dissolved their partnership in 1841. The fort was sold to Messrs. Lock and Randolph who decamped in 1842 without having completed payment for the fort. A string of bad luck had dogged the to men, including losing 45 horses to marauding Sioux Indians, plummeting fur and pelt prices, and the failure of a boatload of pelts to reach the States.

Bent and St. Vrain had always intended to trade in the north, and had regularly sent out trading parties with wagons, including Richens L Wootten, as soon as they were able. With the construction of Fort Laramie in 1834, their northern potential was restricted and with the establishment of Fort Lupton in 1836, was severely limited. In order to protect their trade, they constructed an adobe fort, known as Fort St.Vrain, but also sometimes called Fort Lookout, or Fort George in the autumn of 1837. Rufus Sage (in Rocky Mountain Life) described the fort in 1842 as follows: "Twelve miles below Fort Lancaster we passed Fort George, a large trading post kept up by Bent and St. Vrain. Its size rather exceeds that of Fort Platte, previously described; it is built, however , after the same fashion, as, in fact, are all the regular trading posts in the country. At this time, fifteen or twenty men were stationed there, under the command of Mr. Marsalina St. Vrain." The fort was located on the South Platte River approximately five miles north of Fort Vasquez. Unsuccessful attempts were made to supply the fort by water using the South Platte for shipping goods and supplies due to the shallow character of the river. Most of the fort’s supplies were obtained by pack train and wagon up from Bent’s Fort.

With four forts active within fifteen miles of each other, the competition was fierce for the limited amount of trade available. In 1838, Bent & St. Vrain Company and the American Fur Company came to an agreement regarding trade in this area. The American Fur Company would not send parties south of the South Platte river, while Bent & St. Vrain Company would stay clear of the North Platte. Fort Jackson was abandoned as a result of this agreement. However, before Bent & St. Vrain Company could monopolize the area, they still needed to deal with the Lupton Fur Company, and Vasquez & Sublette. The latter firm, although backed financially by William Sublette and Robert Campbell, didn’t have the logistical resources or depth to effectively compete with Bent & St. Vrain Company.

Lancaster Lupton, was an aggressive trader and managed to hang on in spite of the torrid competition provoked by his entrance. Lancaster Lupton expanded the reach of his company, establishing Fort Platte in 1840 one mile below Fort Laramie, to directly compete with that establishment, which was being ineffectively managed at that time. The managers of Fort Laramie had an inefficient supply system, and experiments in supplementing supplies by gardening were also a failure. Although some cattle and poultry were grown at the fort, flour was often lacking. It is reported that there was little at Fort Laramie to appeal to a trapper of independent spirit. Through Fort Platte, Lancaster Lupton was able to profitably exploit these weaknesses of Fort Laramie.

Fort Lupton was operated as late as 1844, but when Francis Parkman passed by in 1846, the fort was deserted. Much of Lupton’s success was due to his ability to bring in whiskey in large quantities to both Fort Platte and to Fort Lupton. Lupton was so successful at this aspect of the trade, in spite of laws prohibiting alcohol, that the American Fur Company sought legal recourse. The ease with which Lupton smuggled alcohol up from St. Louis suggests that Army officers who were his former associates turned a blind eye to the kegs transported along with the rest of his goods and supplies. Although Fort Platte was a commercial success, Lupton sold it to the veteran firm of Pratte & Cabanne in 1843, probably because of losses at Fort Lupton. Pratte & Cabbanne operated Fort Platte from 1843 to 1845. Fort Platte was deserted in 1846 when Francis Parkman passed.

Bent & St. Vrain Company closed Fort St. Vrain after the abandonment of Fort Lupton. Bent & St. Vrain continued to trade in the area, however, the trade was accomplished by sending wagon loads of goods accompanied by a party of men for defense out of Bent’s Fort to the trading area. Using this method, Bent & St. Vrain Company frequently infringed on the territory of the American Fur Company by trading beyond the North Platte. Fort St. Vrain was briefly reopened in 1850 to serve as an outfitting point for emigrant trade.

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