THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN 2021! 

Experience an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration during the Fort Fetterman Day celebration near Douglas, July 4.

The celebration begins with a 5k cross-country run at 7 a.m. followed at 8 a.m. with a flag dedication, flag raising and free pancake breakfast.

Other events during the celebration include living history demonstrations, a frontier gambler, cemetery tours, old-fashioned children’s games, wagon rides, craft and food vendors and a day of family fun.

Fort Fetterman was completed in July of 1867. It contained quarters for 300 enlisted men and the necessary officers.

Included in the fort were a hospital with 15 beds, stables for 50 horses, a corral capable of holding 50 six-mule wagons and their teams, an ice-house, a root-house, a granary, a bake house, blacksmith shops, sawmills, a saddle shop, a paint shop, and laundresses’ quarters.

Today visitors can walk the historic grounds and tour the restored officers’ quarters and ordnance warehouse. A gazebo overlooks the North Platte River, allowing one a place to ponder just how much life in Wyoming has changed over the last 150 years.

The military abandoned the Fort in 1882. It persisted for a time as Fetterman City, but declined rapidly when Douglas was established 11 miles away with the arrival of the railroad in 1886.

Come experience this fascinating piece of Wyoming history for yourself this Independence Day!

Fort Fetterman State Historic Site is located at 752 State Hwy. 93 near Douglas, Wyo.

For more information, call Jenna Thorburnt 307-358-9288.

   
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
A Division of Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources
2301 Central Avenue, 4th Floor, Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-6323, www.wyoparks.org