Introduction
Could you imagine creating a building by hand that is 180 feet by 135 feet wide and the walls being 15 foot tall? To make matters worse, building four foot thick walls and it is all made of adobe, which is a clay like material that is made into bricks. As you think of this do any buildings created come to mind? A building is not created this strong and big for just anything, which is why Bent’s Fort was such a successful trading post. Bents Fort was run by about sixty people that all did many different things to make this one of the most significant trading posts in our country’s history. It happened to be the biggest building between Missouri and the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of traders and adventurers stopped along the Santé…show more content… Vrain because it was name of the construction supervisor that built the fort. The fort was in one of the most ideal places for the military to repair equipment and get water/food during the Mexican American War in 1846. (Santa Fe Trail.2014) This remained the first fort until 1849 when the fort was burnt to the ground. The amount of trading business that took place at the fort during its zenith was a great amount. Trade of furs, exchange of horses and mules, tobacco, axes, firearms, and other technological goods all took place. It was buzzing with people making trade deals and travelers stopping along their journey across the Sante Fe Trail. It was such a popular place for trading and visiting because of the all the people it welcomed people of all kinds.…show more content… This fort had tower like structures in the corners of the building which had multiple cannons mounted to protect the fort and those inside. Within the fort it was ran by about sixty people. There were blacksmiths, trappers, traders, carpenters, mechanics, wheelwrights, gunsmiths, cooks, cattle herders, hunters, clerks, teamsters, and laborers. (Legends of America. 2003) Mountain men would stop at the fort to drop off their goods, which were usually beaver pelts. They would talk with one another, resupply, and prepare for their next trip. For many years they created a trading empire that went from Texas to Wyoming, the Rocky mountains to Kansas, and all the trails trade. The major purpose for Bent’s Fort was for trading, but it also had many other purposes. It was also point of supply for many travelers as well as a place of safety and refuge for white men and Indians. Many mountain men called the fort their second
