Candlelight Tour

Saturday, October 12, 2024

 

Our annual Candlelight Tour on the 2nd Saturday in October is one of our most popular events. Held after dark, with only lanterns and candles to light the buildings, it's a chance to see the fort as it would have been in the 1800s before electricity. Every year scenes are played out in each of the historic buildings based on events from the fort's past.

This year we’re exploring the role of the Post Trader in the life of a frontier military post. Post traders were merchants granted a license to operate a store on the post to provide soldiers with items not issued by the Army. Being able to get things like soap, writing paper, and special foods, just to name a few, was helpful for men stationed far from towns or cities. The Post Trader had his downsides, though, one of which was selling alcohol in his store, which could cause lots of problems for the officers and men. The scenes in this year’s tour will highlight both the good and bad side of having a civilian store on post.

Although there is no fee for the event, tours are limited to 20 people each and you must make reservations. We start taking reservations on the Monday two weeks prior to the event.

 

 

Reservations

We'll start taking reservations on Monday, September 30 at 8:30 am. You must make reservations by phone at 620-285-6911, or in person at the Fort Larned Visitor Center. We're not able to take reservations by email. We also ask that you not leave a voicemail message for reservations. The person taking reservations is not able to check voicemail during the reservation process.