Last updated: March 7, 2025
Place
St. Vrain's Quarters
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
2 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Tactile Exhibit
When William Boggs sketched the fort from memory some fifty-eight years after his 1844 visit, he showed this area as "... St. Vrains room on top of fort."
The furniture that you see in this room interprets Mr. St. Vrain and the occasional gentlemen who resided here while St. Vrain was away in Missouri or New Mexico. Temporary residents could have included Francis Parkman, the twenty-two year old Bostonian writer and historian who reached the fort in August of 1846; Alexander Barclay, an Englishmen who served as Superintendent of Stores here from 1838-1842; and Francis Preston Blair, Jr., Missouri state representative and senator, as well as 1868 Democratic Vice Presidential running mate of Horatio Seymour.
In addition to military uniform items and equipment, the initials "J.A." appear on the trunk that sits along the north wall; these letters are for the well documented Lieutenant James Abert who may have resided in the room during one or more of his several stays at the fort. Abert was a graduate of Princeton and the U.S. Military Academy, and a veteran of the 5th Infantry and the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Abert's sketches of Bent's Old Fort remain the best historic documentation for the site and were critical to informing the reconstruction effort that took place in 1975 and 1976. Other materials that you see also reflect something of Aberts life - his sketches hang from the wall and a journal is open on the table. A very nice buffalo robe and wool blankets provide warmth. The room is also fitted with a mirror and wash basin.
The furniture that you see in this room interprets Mr. St. Vrain and the occasional gentlemen who resided here while St. Vrain was away in Missouri or New Mexico. Temporary residents could have included Francis Parkman, the twenty-two year old Bostonian writer and historian who reached the fort in August of 1846; Alexander Barclay, an Englishmen who served as Superintendent of Stores here from 1838-1842; and Francis Preston Blair, Jr., Missouri state representative and senator, as well as 1868 Democratic Vice Presidential running mate of Horatio Seymour.
In addition to military uniform items and equipment, the initials "J.A." appear on the trunk that sits along the north wall; these letters are for the well documented Lieutenant James Abert who may have resided in the room during one or more of his several stays at the fort. Abert was a graduate of Princeton and the U.S. Military Academy, and a veteran of the 5th Infantry and the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Abert's sketches of Bent's Old Fort remain the best historic documentation for the site and were critical to informing the reconstruction effort that took place in 1975 and 1976. Other materials that you see also reflect something of Aberts life - his sketches hang from the wall and a journal is open on the table. A very nice buffalo robe and wool blankets provide warmth. The room is also fitted with a mirror and wash basin.