Fort Sanders, located three miles south of the town of Laramie, was founded in 1866. It was established to provide protection for the Denver to Salt Lake stage line and the men constructing the Union Pacific railroad.
The Army troops stationed at Fort Sanders contributed to Laramie’s growing economy. Payday meant visits by soldiers to saloons, houses of ill repute and gambling parlors in town. Tempers sometimes flared, with soldiers and railroad men clashing.
The officers of the post had more genteel relations with the people of Laramie. The Fourth Infantry string band played for Laramie dance parties. And the townspeople traveled by horse and buggy out to Fort Sanders to enjoy open air concerts put on by the Fifth Cavalry brass band.
The fort’s most famous visitor was General Ulysses S. Grant, who came to resolve a dispute regarding the construction of the railroad.
Learn more about the history of Fort Sanders in the Clarice Whittenburg papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.