Strategically located for trade with Southern Plains Indians, and the principal stop on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail, the post was the hub of a vast trading network in the 1833-46 era, and a rendezvous for military parties. While a reconstruction of the fort was erected on the original foundations, only the graveyard and archeological sites are part of the National Historic Landmark.

Information provided by the National Registry of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service