Jacques La Ramie was a free trapper who came to this region around 1815 and met an unknown fate, probably at the hands of Indians, about 1820 on one of the rivers bearing his name between which this monument stands. Tradition holds that he was an honest, just, and courageous leader and trader. His name lives on in three Laramie Rivers, Fort Laramie, the Laramie Plains, Laramie Peak, Laramie City, and Laramie County.