1849 - United States buys Fort Laramie

         First commanded by Major Winslow Sanderson, the government purchased the fort from the American Fur Company for $4,000. 

         During its first incarnation, the fort was a vital outpost of commerce during the era of the fur men, and it became a central landmark to nomadic tribes who traded furs with white men.

         As a military post, Fort Laramie would host a number of important treaty councils between federal treaty commissioners and western tribes.