trading posts

In 1862, veteran Fort Laramie trader James Bordeaux built a short-lived trading post at Rawhide Buttes. Almost nothing is known about the post itself, but the buttes remained a landmark for travelers long after Bordeaux left, later becoming a station on the stage road to the Black Hills gold rush.

In 1857, veteran fur trader Andrew Drips built a post on the North Platte River near present-day Torrington, his last venture after decades in the Rocky Mountain and Upper Missouri trade, including stints helping run Fort William and two different posts both called Fort John. Drips traded here until his death in 1860.