Archeological test
excavations are currently taking place at the location of Bent’s New Fort, west of Lamar, Colorado. The work is being conducted by Richard
Carrillo of Cuartelejo HP Associates, Inc. of La Junta with the
assistance of Roche Lindsey, Research Associate and students from the
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs,
Field School in Historical Archeology.
Bent’s
New Fort was constructed by William Bent in the early 1850s as a
trading post and freighting center for U.S. military supplies. In 1860,
the site was taken over by the U.S. military for use as a commissary
for the new Fort Wise, which was being built one half mile west of
Bent’s New Fort. The title of Fort Wise, named for the governor of
Virginia, was changed to Fort Lyon after the outbreak of the Civil War.
Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general killed in the war,
succumbing at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri. It was from
this original Fort Lyon that troops marched in November 1864 to carry
out the infamous Sand Creek Massacre.
The
current archeological work is being funded with grants from the
National Park Service’s (NPS) American Battlefield Protection Program,
the NPS National Trails Office Intermountain Region, and the Colorado
State Historical Fund. The project is being administered through
Canyons & Plains, the Southeast Colorado Regional Heritage Tourism
group. The Bent’s New Fort site itself is owned by Brad Semmens of
Lamar and Gary McCall of Walsh.
Anyone
interested in seeing the current archeological work at the site is
invited to attend an Open House from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July
11. This will be during the last week of the archeology field
session. Bent’s New Fort is located on County Road 35.25 in far eastern
Bent County. To reach the site, take U.S. 50 to County Road 35,
approximately 10 miles west of Lamar or 25 miles east of Las Animas.
Turn south on County Road 35 for 1 mile to County Road JJ (dead end).
Turn east (left) and drive ¼ mile, turning south (right) onto County
Road 35.25 for ¼ mile to the Bent’s New Fort parking lot. Walk up the
two-track road from the parking lot to the fort site.
