Fort Vasquez was founded in 1835 by Andrew W. Sublette and Pierre Louis Vasquez as a historic adobe fur trade fort supporting trade with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Sublette, Vasquez, and their fellow trappers were experienced in the fur business and came from Spain, France, England, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. They chose the site because of the abundant native game in the area and because it stood at a strategic midpoint between Fort William (Fort Laramie) to the north and Bent’s Fort to the south. Originally on the eastern bank of the South Platte River, the fort became an immediate landmark, and although the river later shifted course several times and now lies one-quarter mile west across the same broad flood plain, the site remained significant. The land was rich in buffalo, antelope, deer, elk, and beaver, and produced good hay for grazing. The establishment of Fort Vasquez directly led to the building of three rival forts in the following years: Fort Lupton, Fort St. Vrain, and Fort Jackson. Its adobe brick construction reflected both the scarcity of practical building materials and Hispanic influences in a high plains region with very little timber in 1835. Established in 1835 and abandoned in 1842, Fort Vasquez was later a favored landmark on the South Platte River Trail during the 1850s and a stagecoach stop in 1885. Archaeological finds in the 1960s played a unique role in the fort’s restoration and revealed details of how it had actually been used. The fort was rebuilt by the Works Progress Administration in 1935-36 and acquired by the Colorado Historical Society in 1958.