3. Post Trader's Store

The building identified as the Post Trader’s Complex on the map of the grounds was the site of a commercial enterprise on the Post that was operated by the Sutler or Post Trader. (The title Sutler was used until shortly after the Civil War when it was changed to Post Trader.) Between 1849 and 1890 several traders would operate the enterprise.

The Post Trader was a civilian who was given a license to operate a store on the Post. He was an important asset to the Fort because he supplied the soldiers with items that supplemented the bare necessities provided by the Army. In addition to military personnel, he also supplied emigrants traveling along the Oregon and Bozeman Trails and stocked items that appealed to officers’ wives and other civilians in the area. In the 1850’s and 1860’s, Indians would also trade at his store. Although the prices of items in his store were regulated to some extent by the Army, the Post Trader still made a tidy profit.

Interior of Post Trader’s Store
There are three sections to the store: an adobe section built in 1850, a stone section added in 1852, and a segment added in 1883 that housed an officer’s club and an enlisted men’s bar. The complex has been restored to its appearance in 1876 when the adobe portion housed the store and the stone section contained the trader’s headquarters and the post office. The enlisted men’s bar has been refurnished as a bar, and sells sarsaparilla and non- alcoholic beer to vistors.