Fort Platte

Lancaster Lupton, a former Army dragoon officer, had already built a post on the South Platte before he came north in 1841 and raised Fort Platte in adobe, a mile from the American Fur Company's decaying Fort William. The company rebuilt in adobe the same year as Fort John. Lupton traded whiskey for furs and was bankrupt in 1842; Sybille, Adams and Company bought the post, and in 1843 government agents raided it for contraband liquor. Pratte and Cabanné, the last owners, gave up in 1845. Brigham Young's party walked through its ruins two years later.

What the plaque says

Fort Platte A trading post, built by Lancaster P. Lupton in 1841, stood fifty yards to the north. Placed by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming July 1951

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Laramie National Historic Site — 1.1 mi
  Old Bedlam, the officers' quarters of 1849, survived the auction that scattered the rest of the post; an 1875 Army bridge still crosses the river.
• Register Cliff State Historic Site — 9.3 mi
  The first camp out of Fort Laramie, where the oldest date on the rock reads 1829 and three emigrants never left.
• Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site — 11 mi
  The clearest wagon ruts on the trail, worn by iron tires and cut deeper by travelers who hacked at the ledge to get their wagons over.

More markers nearby

• Old Army Bridge Over the Platte River — 0.3 mi
• Fort Laramie National Historic Site — 0.8 mi
• Mormon Pioneers at Fort Laramie — 1.1 mi
• The Greatest Ride in History — 1.2 mi