Fort Vasquez Museum, Platteville

Site of an 1835 trading fort built by Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette along the South Platte River, is located 35 miles north of Denver on US Hwy 85 on the former Trappers Trail. Vasquez and Sublette stocked their outpost with goods to trade for buffalo robes and furs from the Plains Indians.

Increased competition and changing times forced the partners to sell in 1842. The new owners abandoned the fort, which became a noted landmark and favored campsite for emigrants to the region.

In the mid-1830's the Works Project Administration (WPA) sponsored a reconstruction of the adobe trading fort. After the Colorado Historical Society acquired the property in 1958, a series of archaeological excavations uncovered the fort's original foundations. Artifacts from these excavations, American Indian objects, and exhibits about the fur trade era are on view at Fort Vasquez museum. The museum Store offers a full range of western goods, including books, American Indian jewelry, art and assorted gifts as well as visitor information.

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