In search of the Fraeb battlefield and trading post, August 1841

Abstract

During the late 1830s and early 1840s, trading posts in Wyoming were relocating to major waterways and trail systems to capture the burgeoning indigenous bison robe and overland Euroamerican emigrant trade. Recent research discovered references to a “Fraeb's trading post” operating in southern Wyoming during the 1830s. Wyoming cultural records also contain a site form for 48CR1184, the “Bridger and Fraeb trading post,” located in south-central Wyoming. The construction of a post in southern Wyoming during the 1830s would have been at odds with developing economic models. Historical references describe a battle between Euroamerican trappers and Native Americans near the supposed Fraeb's trading post. However, reliable references to the nature of the structure associated with the battle have not been discovered. In 2011, the authors conducted archaeological investigations in an effort to locate the battle site and possible remains of the post to gain insight into historic activities at this location.

Keywords:

• fur trade
• Henry Fraeb
• trading post
• historic archaeology
• dendrochronology