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Coordinates: 38°16′41″N 105°06′04″W / 38.278°N 105.101°W / 38.278; -105.101
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==Geography==
==Geography==
The fort was located on a bluff above Mineral Creek and Adobe Creek<ref name="Gallagher" /><ref name="Campbell" /> off of the Hardscrabble Trail, an old Native American trail at the foot of [[Greenhorn Mountain]]. The trail went through the [[Wet Mountain Valley]] and [[Sangre de Cristo Mountains]],<ref name="World Journal" />{{efn|A source states that the fort was 5 miles from Bent's Old Fort,<ref name="World Journal" /> but per Google Maps, the two forts were about 105 miles apart. Brooks says that Fort Leche was established 5 miles from Bent's Fort. He also says that Fort Le Duc and Bent's Fort were 90 miles apart.<ref name="Brooks2011">{{cite book|author=James F. Brooks|title=Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n17qCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA232|date=April 25, 2011|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-0-8078-9988-5|page=232}}</ref>}} through the [[San Luis Valley]] and down to [[Taos, New Mexico|Taos]].<ref name="Campbell" />
The fort was located between present-day [[Florence, Colorado|Florence]] and [[Wetmore, Colorado]] on a bluff above Mineral Creek and Adobe Creek.<ref name="Gallagher" /><ref name="Campbell" /> It was off of the Hardscrabble Trail, an old Native American trail at the foot of [[Greenhorn Mountain]]. The trail went through the [[Wet Mountain Valley]] and [[Sangre de Cristo Mountains]],<ref name="World Journal" />{{efn|A source states that the fort was 5 miles from Bent's Old Fort,<ref name="World Journal" /> but per Google Maps, the two forts were about 105 miles apart. Brooks says that Fort Leche was established 5 miles from Bent's Fort. He also says that Fort Le Duc and Bent's Fort were 90 miles apart.<ref name="Brooks2011">{{cite book|author=James F. Brooks|title=Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n17qCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA232|date=April 25, 2011|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-0-8078-9988-5|page=232}}</ref>}} through the [[San Luis Valley]] and down to [[Taos, New Mexico|Taos]] where fur skins were traded for goods.<ref name="Campbell" />


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 01:52, 8 June 2024

Fort Le Duc
Trading post and fort
Nickname(s): 
Buzzard's Roost, El Cuervo, Maurice's Fort, and Crow's Nest
Fort Le Duc is located in Colorado
Fort Le Duc
Fort Le Duc
Approximate location of Fort Le Duc[1]
Coordinates: 38°16′41″N 105°06′04″W / 38.278°N 105.101°W / 38.278; -105.101
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyCuster
Nearest townWetmore

Fort Le Duc or Fort LeDuc[a] was a square fort and trading post built near Wetmore, Colorado. It was named after trapper Maurice LeDuc or Maurice LeDoux, and constructed around 1830[1] or 1835.[3]

Geography

The fort was located between present-day Florence and Wetmore, Colorado on a bluff above Mineral Creek and Adobe Creek.[2][4] It was off of the Hardscrabble Trail, an old Native American trail at the foot of Greenhorn Mountain. The trail went through the Wet Mountain Valley and Sangre de Cristo Mountains,[3][b] through the San Luis Valley and down to Taos where fur skins were traded for goods.[4]

History

Maurice LeDuc was a French Canadian who married a Ute woman. It is believed that he may have obtained money to start the fort and trading post from the Bent brothers, Charles and George Bent.[3] LeDuc had several circumstances that helped him succeed at the site. The Mexican government licensed him to trade, he was able to purchase the moonshine Taos Lightning, and his wife had many Native American friends who traded at the post.[3] Utes passed through the area as they traveled between the hunting grounds of the plains and west through the Wet Mountain Valley.[4] LeDuc established the post with William LeBlanc and other trappers.[4]

The fort was 144 feet (44 m) wide, made of picket lots, and had bastions at the corners. There were wooden gates on the west side of the building that led to a 48-square foot central plaza. An adobe house within the enclosure provided living quarters.[3] The fort, with eight rooms, protected settlers from often hostile Native Americans.[6] It was in service until 1848[6] or 1854, when settlements such as Hardscrabble were established in the area.[2] There are no remains of the fort today.[2]

A historical marker was installed in 1969 in recognition of Fort Le Duc by the Arkansas Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colorado Department of Highways, and Colorado Historical Society. It is located seven miles south of Florence.[6] The historical marker is entitled "Hardscrabble".[3]

Notes

  1. ^ It was also called Buzzard's Roost, El Cuervo, Maurice's Fort, and Crow's Nest.[2][3]
  2. ^ A source states that the fort was 5 miles from Bent's Old Fort,[3] but per Google Maps, the two forts were about 105 miles apart. Brooks says that Fort Leche was established 5 miles from Bent's Fort. He also says that Fort Le Duc and Bent's Fort were 90 miles apart.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Brief History". Westmore Historical Society.
  2. ^ a b c d Jolie Anderson Gallagher (April 2, 2013). Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-61423-903-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Frontier Forts, part 1". The World Journal. Huerfano County, Colorado. August 7, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Campbell, Rosemae (Wells) (1972). From trappers to tourists; Fremont County, Colorado, 1830-1950. Palmer Lake, Colo., Filter Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-910584-29-6.
  5. ^ James F. Brooks (April 25, 2011). Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands. UNC Press Books. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-8078-9988-5.
  6. ^ a b c "Ft. Le Duc Marker Established by DAR". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. May 22, 1969. p. 29. Retrieved June 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

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