Preservation

Historic Preservation at Work

NPS Photo: Caroline Rohe

Preservation has been a part of the Fort Laramie’s history since its induction to the National Park Service in 1938. Much like the Fort itself, preservation has gone through many different stages and iterations; it is an ever changing and evolving discipline. In the past, it was considered best practice to use modern materials such as latex paint, joint compound, and Portland cement when completing preservation work. The thought was that modern materials were easier to work with, more durable, and would give the buildings an aesthetically pleasing look.

Today, our thinking changed. We now are returning to more traditional methods, using the same materials that the original builders of Fort Laramie would have had at their disposal. There are a few reasons for this. First, it is the most accurate representation for how the building would have looked during Fort Laramie’s heyday – lumpy walls and all! Furthermore, while modern materials work well in modern day construction, they are not compatible with historic building fabric and can oftentimes exacerbate issues within our structures.

In the photo, members of the Fort Laramie maintenance division are fixing holes and cracks on the outsides of several historic structures. A never-ending battle when preserving lime grout structures. The buildings at Fort Laramie were only supposed to last for 20-40 years during the military operational use of the fort and instead they have survived over 130 plus years.

Why lime grout? When the US Army arrived in the area in the 1840s, the nearest source of timber was over 60 miles away on Laramie Peak, whereas lime grout could be easily mixed on site with sand from the Laramie River and nearby limestone. In fact, our maintenance preservation team still uses sand from the Laramie river to create the lime grout mixture, as this sand best mixes with the original lime grout coloration.