From 1810 until the decline of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the late 1830s, fur traders and trappers traversed this region on their way west in quest of beaver pelts, then retraced their route east laden with furs. These men left little evidence of their passing, but they explored the routes used by thousands of future settlers destined for locations west of Wyoming.

Although suggestions to build a transcontinental railroad had been made in the 1840s, no decision was reached until after the outbreak of the Civil War when Congress selected a central route through southern Wyoming. The Union Pacific Railroad, chartered by Congress, built track westward from Nebraska through Wyoming to Utah.

The military constructed a series of forts along the Union Pacific route to protect construction crews against attack by hostile Indians. Fort Fred Steele, named in honor of Civil War hero Major General Frederick Steele, was established in June, 1868 where the railroad crossed the North Platte River. Until 1886, when it was decommissioned, the garrison at Fort Fred Steele performed a variety of policing activities involving both Indians and civilians.

The railroad also promoted mercantile development, and livestock, lumber and mining industries. After the departure of the military, these industries continued and the town of Fort Steele survived. Completion of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway through Wyoming in 1922 contributed to a brief economic revival. However, rerouting of the highway in 1939 and the demise of the tie industry in 1940 ended the town’s function as a commercial center.