Fort Vasquez at Platteville was a fur-trade post on the South Platte

Long before oil wells and feedlots, southern Weld County sat on a busy trade road. Fort Vasquez, just south of Platteville, is a reminder of that older story.

In the 1830s, two business partners, Louis Vasquez and Andrew Sublette, built an adobe trading post on the bank of the South Platte River. They chose the spot because it lay roughly between two larger forts on the early trade network, and they hoped to trade with travelers and Plains tribes for furs and hides. The post operated for only a handful of years before it was sold and then left behind. Over the years the old walls served other uses before falling into ruin.

What you can visit today is a reconstruction. It sits on the original site, though it is not an exact copy of the first fort. A museum tells the story of the South Platte fur trade and the people who passed through, and the grounds host living-history events at times.

If you are getting to know the south end of Weld County, this is a calm way to see how the river shaped early travel here. To plan a visit and read the documented history, start with History Colorado’s Fort Vasquez page.