Bridge over the North Platte River east of Fort Laramie/Kurt Repanshek

In 1849 the U.S. Army purchased a fur trading post on the Laramie River in the Wyoming Territory to mount a presence along the emigrant trails that headed west across the Plains. Though it was known as Fort John at the time, the Army renamed it Fort Laramie and quickly enlarged it, creating what would become the largest military presence on the Northern Plains.

In 1875, 26 years after acquiring the fort, the Army built this bridge across the North Platte River just east of the fort. It served as a link between Cheyenne and Fort Laramie and points north to the Black Hills, where gold prospectors hoped for the best.

Today you can walk across this bridge before driving on to visit Fort Laramie National Historic Site.

Commemorative plaque marking the Army Bridge over the North Platte River near Fort Laramie National Historical Site/Kurt Repanshek