“We very soon struck a road which had been made by the waggons from Bents Fort . . . passed St. Vrain’s Fort . . . a few miles brought us to Luptons Fort and we passed two others during the day. These are all deserted now, the trade having become to small to support them.”      William B. Franklin, 1845, traveling north to south.

Fort Lupton, an 1836 trading post established by Lancaster Lupton, has been faithfully reconstructed by the South Platte Valley Historical Society.

The South Platte River flows past the site of the short-lived, Fort Jackson, located about 5 miles north of Fort Lupton.

The reconstructed Fort Vasquez sits between traffic lanes of U.S. Highway 85 south of Platteville. The museum, administered by History Colorado, tells the story of the fur trade era.

The muddy waters of Fountain Creek, right, merge with the Arkansas River at Pueblo. The Creek is the largest tributary of the Arkansas River in Colorado.

Only a marker remains at the site of Fort St. Vrain, established in 1837 by the Bent and St. Vrain Company. The site is located four miles west of Gilcrest.