After departing Oklahoma, we returned to the plains of eastern Colorado for the final night of our whirlwind road trip. Our home for the night was at the KOA in the town of La Junta. Junta, by the way, is pronounced ‘hun-tuh’… which is honestly less ridiculous than we were expecting. Colorado is really good at taking the Spanish names for places and completely mispronouncing them (see: Limon and Buena Vista, pronounced ‘lye-mun’ and ‘byoo-nuh vis-tuh’ respectively).
Anyway.
La Junta is located in southeastern Colorado on the Arkansas River. It sits at what used to be the junction – or junta – of the Santa Fe Trail and an old pioneer road. The Santa Fe Trail was a main trading route in the mid-to-late 1800s that connected Missouri to Santa Fe which was, at the time, located in the Republic of Texas, area claimed by Mexico. The Arkansas River was the border between the US and Mexican territories.
Although it resembled military fortifications, Bent’s Old Fort was in fact a trading post. Brothers Charles and William Bent and their business partner Ceran St. Vrain built the fort a few miles outside La Junta in 1833, choosing this particular place because, in addition to its location along the Santa Fe Trail, it was fairly centrally-located between the fur trappers of the Rocky Mountains and the homeland and hunting grounds of multiple Native American tribes. It quickly became a key location for trading and the main stop on the Santa Fe Trail for travelers in need of rest, repairs, and replenishment.
About 60 people lived full-time at the fort, but at times the population temporarily swelled to as many as 200 as travelers and traders spent a few nights at the fort on their way through. Multiple languages – including English, Spanish, French, and the individual languages of the Native American tribes – were spoken at the fort. It was somewhat of an anomaly at this point in history; a location where people of many different backgrounds interacted and mingled peacefully. William Bent’s marriage to a Cheyenne named Owl Woman was in part responsible for establishment and maintenance of this peaceful coexistence.
(That being said, the fort was built on land stolen from the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Jicarilla Apache, Ute, Osage, and Kiowa tribes (source) and was a main vehicle for the introduction of new technologies, forever altering their ways of life. As the fort drew more and more settlers, it also accelerated the takeover of native lands by the US.)
Charles Bent died in 1847 and St. Vrain attempted to sell the fort to the US Army. In 1849, the fort burned to the ground; it’s unknown how the fire started, though one theory is that it was actually set by William Bent. Fortunately, a man named Lieutenant James Abert had temporarily lived at the fort in 1846, during which time he extensively measured, surveyed, and painted images of it. These watercolors and blueprints are the reason the National Park Service was able to build an exact replica of the fort in the 1970s upon establishment of Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site. It was opened to the public in 1976.
Both guided and self-guided tours of the fort are available. Due to the pandemic, only self-guided tours were occurring when we visited. We began by watching the 20 minute video on the history of the fort, and then walked around the fort on our own with a pamphlet explaining the history and uses of each room of this two-story adobe and wood structure.
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: located along CO highway 194 about 8 miles (13 km) east of La Junta
- Fees and passes: $3 per person; interagency passes NOT accepted
- Hours: the park is NOT open 24/7; check the website before visiting to ensure you will arrive during open hours. They also host a few special events during the year, which cost slightly more and will provide a very different fort experience
- Hiking: it’s about a 5-10 minute walk on a flat paved path out to the fort; an optional additional 1.5 mile (2.4 km) dirt trail winds through the trees and along the river between the fort and the parking lot
- Where to stay: there are no accommodations in the NHS, however both camping and lodging are available in La Junta
- Other: much of the fort is open air, so be prepared for the weather of the day… sun gear, rain gear, a jacket, waterbottle, etc.
Handstands Around the World 
I love to visit this place.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow, what a wonderful place to explore and a very interesting piece of history. Looks like Old Bent’s Fort holds fascinating history, regardless if the edifice is a replica of the original site.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great article, although this is a trade post, it looks very much like a fort. I find the interior fittings interesting to get a feel for what life was like in the old day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never been there. Great sites to see especially the ancient fort.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It looks lovely. I liked all the wood and imagine what life was like for the people there before. So junta means junction in this context? In The Ph, junta means coup!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh interesting! Yes, junta in Spanish is junction.
LikeLike
I love it when they keep places like this furnished like it would have been at the time. Looks like a really cool place. (By the way, I hate it that the locals nickname Buena Vista “byoo-nee.” Ugh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ugh, yes. Of all the stupid names here, “bueny” is absolutely the most frustrating of them all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This looks like an interesting place to explore with so much history. In some ways I much prefer self-guided tours as you get to explore at your own pace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do too… it was nice to be able to read the pamphlet in each room and identify everything it was talking about and spend as much time as we wanted at each place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this old fort, so great that there were paintings of it so it could be recreated. What an interesting history it has. Maggie
LikeLiked by 1 person
love visiting places like this with soooooo much history
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was really neat, I wasn’t expecting to learn such a broad span of history at such a small place!
LikeLike
This looks so cool! I NEED to get back down there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’d love it! I just wish it was original and not rebuilt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww boo, I think most of them are like that these days.
LikeLike
So interesting – and I love that the fort was a mix of different people, cultures and languages – way ahead of its time. Here in England at the moment we have had an explosion of racist abuse aimed at our football (soccer) players who lost in a Cup Final. I sometimes think we haven’t moved on since the 1800s – and reading things like this, perhaps we’ve gone backwards!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel the same. I’m sure you’ve heard about the US racial justice protests over the last year… I believe it made international news. I’d certainly say we’ve made some progress in some areas, but it’s frustrating that we have so far to go still and yet some people refuse to see that and continue to behave in such racist ways. I’d heard a little about what’s happening with the football players… are the abusers facing any repercussions?
It was comforting though to visit this place where peaceful coexistence was once the norm… it gives me hope that if we could do it in the past, it’s possible again in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it was all over the news here, and it’s so good I think that so many people were so vocal. Unfortunately the football players here it’s mainly on social media so there is no policing. It’s leading to wide scale protested against Facebook, Instagram etc to ask for verification to set up an account. Probably nothing will happen in all honesty 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s frustrating. The downside of social media…
LikeLike
Well Diana, maybe it’s your Oregon roots, but you know how to convey history to make it interesting and your photos certainly complement that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike