Historic Bent's Old Fort in Colorado faces preservation challenges as it marks 50 years of telling the West's story

Long before Colorado was a state, a mud-brick trading post on the banks of the Arkansas River served as one of the most important commercial and diplomatic crossroads in the American West. Today, a faithful reconstruction of Bent's Old Fort stands on that same ground -- but keeping it standing is getting harder.

CBS Colorado is proud to work with Colorado Preservation, Inc. to highlight efforts to preserve Bent's Old Fort, as we celebrate 150 years of Colorado statehood.  

Built by brothers William and Charles Bent in 1833, the original fort thrived for 16 years as a hub where fur traders, Native Americans and Mexican merchants converged to do business. The Bents understood the arithmetic of the frontier.

"You couldn't do business with your enemies," said Bill Gwaltney, a retired chief park ranger at the site. "You could only do business with your customers. So making Indian people customers was really the whole diplomatic point of the place."

The original structure, eroded over decades and ultimately wiped out by an Arkansas River flood in 1921, was authorized by Congress in 1960 as a national park unit to commemorate its role in westward expansion. The reconstruction that visitors walk through today was built in time for the nation's bicentennial in 1976.

"You can safely argue that without the bicentennial, reconstruction never happens," said Eric Leonard, superintendent of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site.

Now, nearly 50 years after reopening, the building is showing its age — and park officials say the problems run deeper than routine wear. Structural issues in the roof have forced staff to install pipe jacks as temporary supports, and Leonard acknowledged the situation is unsustainable.

"The status quo is not acceptable," said Leonard. "The challenges we see today are rooted in the original design and construction of the building."

Removing compromised beams would require demolishing the roof above them, leaving no straightforward path to repair. Park staff and local stakeholders are wrestling with what comes next.

Dawn DiPrince, president and CEO of History Colorado, pushed back on any suggestion that the building's troubled history makes it less worth saving.

"The idea that possible mistakes of the predecessors of this site mean that it's not preservable is a falsehood," she said. "That really is what preservation means."

The fort remains a draw for the region. Pamela Denahy, director of tourism and development for the city of La Junta, said visitors connect with the site in ways that go beyond textbooks — including, apparently, an encounter with the resident cat.

For ranger Mario Medina, the connection is personal. His father worked at the fort in its early years, and Medina himself spent three seasons repairing its adobe walls before joining the interpretive staff.

"When I come to work, I still smell the fresh wood, the freshly-made fort," he said.

Gwaltney said the fort's deeper lesson — about cooperation across cultural lines — feels as relevant as ever.

"You've got people figuring out how to cooperate and collaborate," he said. "Maybe they didn't love each other, but they certainly found ways to cooperate to make everybody whole."

CPI is working with the National Park Service, History Colorado, the City of La Junta, Otero County, and other local stakeholders to explore the possibilities of preservation of Bent's Old Fort, helping ensure it continues to educate, inspire, and welcome travelers exploring southeastern Colorado.