Bent's Old Fort History Archives - The Fort Restaurant

Category: Bent’s Old Fort History

Celebrating 60 Years of Shinin’ Times

Posted on February 21, 2023 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, Fine Dining, History of The Fort, People of The Fort

(Includes excerpts from Proprietress Holly Arnold Kinney’s “The Fort Cookbook”)

In 1961, Sam’l and Bay Arnold had a dream to build an adobe home outside of Denver so their family could grow up surrounded by fresh air, horseback riding and fishing. While Bay was reading a book about Bent’s Old Fort, she was inspired to create a similar adobe castle in Morrison, Colorado.

The Arnolds hired William Lumpkins, a top architect in adobe construction, as well as a contractor from … Read the entire post >

Fire Away! An Interview With The Fort’s Cannoneer

Posted on June 29, 2022 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort

Longtime fans of The Fort know there’s no better place to celebrate Independence Day than in Red Rocks country! Along with our tasty BBQ specials and classic Colorado views, Fourth of July at The Fort always includes the firing of our historic cannon.

But firing a 19th century cannon is a little different than setting off fireworks, so we asked The Fort’s cannoneer, Norman Hughes, to share more about his unique hobby.

How did you become a cannoneer?

My involvement … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: cannon, Fourth of July, history, Independence Day, Restaurant, The Fort, tradition

Tour The Fort with Tesoro Cultural Center

Posted on April 22, 2021 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort, People of The Fort, Tesoro Cultural Center

Behind-the-scenes tours of The Fort are the perfect socially-distanced activity for spring! With a guided tour from Tesoro Cultural Center, you can learn about the history of the original Bent’s Old Fort, which operated from 1833-1849 in present-day La Junta, Colo., and was known as the Mud Castle of the Plains.

How did this historic building influence the construction of its replica in Morrison, Colo., and how did The Fort come to be listed on the National Register of … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: 19th century, Americas, Bent's Old Fort, Fur Trade, historic tours, history, old west, Tesoro Cultural Center

The Fur Trader’s and Bent’s Fort

Posted on November 5, 2020 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort, Tesoro Cultural Center

Excerpted from Sam Arnold’s Eating Up the Santa Fe Trail.

In the early 1830s, the beaver fur trade in the mountains was still thriving, and fur companies built trade forts at strategic points along the trail to supply both free and company trappers, and to provide goods for the American Indian trade.

From 1824 to 1846, the Arkansas River served as the border between the United States and Mexico. It was logical that Missouri traders Charles and William Bent, along … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: 19th century, Americas, Bent's Old Fort, Fur Trade, history, old west

Strange Eats of the Old West

Posted on August 11, 2020 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort

Written by Sam’l Arnold and excerpted from Shinin’ Times at The Fort

As the mountain men commonly said, “Meat’s meat, howsomever [sic] what kind, as long as it’s meat!” Learn more about the rather interesting types of meat consumed by fur traders and trappers, mountain men, travelers and American Indians alike during the mid-19^th century.

Buffalo Tongue

Considered a holy meat by the Indians, buffalo tongue was thought by many to be the greatest gourmet delicacy of 19^th… Read the entire post >

Tagged with: 19th century, Antelope, Buffalo, cooking, food, Historic Food, history, Moose, old west, Skunk, Wild Birds

A Short History of a Big Animal

Posted on July 14, 2020 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort

Written by Sam’l Arnold and excerpted from Shinin’ Times at The Fort

The last bison east of the Appalachians was killed in about 1830, although by that time, the great herds of the plains had hardly been touched by the relatively few American Indians living there. Colorado, for example, was believed to be home to fewer than eight thousand American Indians, and these were small bands of the Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Lakota and Ute tribes. Here, bison were far from … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: 19th century, Bison, Buffalo, cooking, history, old west

Fur Trade Gardens in the West

Posted on August 21, 2017 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort

During the 19^th century, many trading forts in the American west found gardens to be a necessary source of fresh food. The selection of crops at each fort depended entirely on what crops were suitable for each specific climate. Crops ranged from sweet corn to watermelon and summer squash to Hidatsa beans.

In the 1960s, Bay Arnold insisted that The Fort Restaurant needed a fur trade garden, just as forts of the old west once had. She discovered the … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: American Indian, Bent's Old Fort, Fur Trade, fur trade era, fur trade garden, garden, historic garden, historic recipe, history, indian garden, kiowa tribe, The Fort, tribe

Road Trip Itinerary: Historic Southwestern Forts

Posted on August 3, 2017 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort

Summer is road trip season, and we’ve mapped out a historic and educational road trip for you and yours to adventure on this summer. The Southwestern region of the United States was once a breeding ground for adobe forts, which served as a commercial place for merchants, hunters and trappers to conduct trade and protect their goods. Today, many of these forts have been restored and now serve as must-visit historical monuments. From Colorado to New Mexico and all the … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: Bent's Old Fort, Bents Fort, Colorado, history, Kit Carson, Sam Arnold, The Fort

Tesoro’s 1830s Rendezvous and Spanish Art Market

Posted on October 5, 2016 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort, People of The Fort, Tesoro Cultural Center

We had another great year hosting Tesoro’s 1830s Rendezvous and Spanish Art Market on the grounds of The Fort. Our guests were accompanied by family, friends, mountain men, artists, dancers and beautiful weather. It was an unforgettable and “waughsome” celebration!

The event was a fun day full of activities for the whole family. Guests were able to experience demonstrations from mountain men and women, trappers and traders. Our mountain men and women paired up with guests to teach them a … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: Bent's Old Fort, Tesoro Cultural Center, The Fort Restaurant

Back to School at Tesoro Cultural Center

Posted on August 31, 2016 by The Fort Storyteller Posted in Bent's Old Fort History, Colorado History, History of The Fort, People of The Fort, Tesoro Cultural Center

It’s back to school time in Colorado, and Tesoro Cultural Center is excited to welcome visitors for a variety of educational programs. Tesoro is dedicated to offering public education outreach in an effort to preserve Colorado’s rich history and cultural heritage of the 19^th-21^st century.

Kiowa Curriculum
The Kiowa Curriculum is an oral history video, “The Kiowa People: In Their Own Words,” and includes a companion activity packet. The program features a Kiowa tribal member, John Emhoolah, … Read the entire post >

Tagged with: Bent's Old Fort, historic lectures, kiowa, school tours, Tesoro Cultural Center, The Fort, trunk show

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