'Castle on the plains' undergoing changes due to aging building at Bent's Old Fort

Southern Colorado's "Castle on the Plains" is facing major changes as the National Parks Service deals with challenges caused by the aging building.

Bent's Old Fort, located near La Junta, is an artifact of Colorado's frontier days. It served as a trading site on the Santa Fe Trail between white settlers and native Cheyenne and Arapaho trappers between 1833 and 1849.

The fort was reconstructed in 1976 — the centennial anniversary of Colorado's statehood. Since then, the site has served as a historic location with "living history" reenactments depicting life on the Colorado frontier.

However, the fort has seen some major changes over the past few months and will likely see more in the days ahead.

Second floor of Bent's Fort is closed due to safety issues

In November 2023, the second floor of the fort was closed due to safety issues, mainly related to two porches on the second level, Superintendent of the High Plains group of national parks for the National Parks Service Eric Leonard told the Chieftain.

Those issues were 50 years in the making, Leonard said, dating back to when the fort was created using a mix of adobe brick and concrete.

"The reconstruction of the fort is its own thing, what it is not is a completely authentic frontier fort," Leonard said. "It is a building reconstructed in the mid-1970s, designed to mimic a building of the mid-19th century. ... A strategic decision in the 1970s was to blend modern materials with historic architectural methodology — there's concrete all throughout the building."

By contrast, the original fort was created using adobe brick.

"Adobe allows moisture to pass through walls because trapping it is bad. Concrete absorbs moisture," he said. "Challenges and issues with the construction started to appear even before the building was complete in 1976."

Over the past 50 years, Leonard said the fort's staffers have been in constant battle with the building to keep moisture out, but in the past few months, things have come to a head with two porches made of pine and cottonwood, with a layer of concrete on top to help shed water.

"Surprise, they contain asbestos, and as they're aging they're starting to crumble," Leonard said. "So there's a known carcinogen potentially being exposed."

One of the porches, each of which weighs about two and a half tons, has also started to show signs of structural failure. Propping up the porch and the examination of the issue has lead to the closure of the second level, he said.

"We're currently in the process of contracting (a company) to come in and remove the life safety and structural risks. That process is ongoing now, but we're fairly certain that work should be completed before the summer, probably sometime in the spring," Leonard said.

However, Leonard noted that a full restoration of the two porches would likely take several years.

"We're committed to finding the best way forward with that building," he said. "There are some other processes that are starting to percolate, and by the end of the year we're hoping to have an open and public discussion about what a sustainable future for the fort looks like," he said.

Inventory of livestock reduced, fort leasing livestock from local farms

The fort, which has historically maintained animals at the site, is "reducing the inventory of livestock kept at the site to a more manageable size," according to the fort's website. The fort is currently exploring options to accomplish that goal, such as leasing livestock during the busier summer season to "maintain the visitor experience in a safer and more sustainable way. "

Leonard stated that the fort has never maintained a particularly large stock of animals. "In the past, we've had a team of oxen, a few mules, one or two horses," he said. "At present, we have one ox, one horse, and two mules, and we also have goats."

Leonard noted, however, that while the government owns the other animals, the goats are being rented from a nearby ranch. There are also several chickens and other fowl at the fort.

Leasing animals while reducing the stock owned by NPS allows the fort to reduce the amount of animals that require care on the premises during slow seasons, Leonard said, while still allowing for some flexibility during busier months.

Leonard stated that in 2006, a report noted that the fort was exceeding its capacity for managing animals.

"And then time passed.," he said. "At no point in the park's history have we ever had a dedicated employee to take care of animals — animal care is spread across work groups in the park. Successful national parks that have livestock programs — such as the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in the Hill Country of Texas and Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Western Montana —have staff dedicated to the care and use of those animals. That has never been the case here."

Park's house have been reduced over the winter

The park also began a winter hour schedule in January 2024, with the fort only open to the public three days a week, Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except holidays.

"The park sees a much-reduced level of visitation during winter months," reads the fort's website. "This schedule allows staff to complete planning and training and creates opportunities for Rangers to go into the community, visiting schools, libraries, and other community organizations for national park and history-related programming. "

Leonard noted that the fort intends to go back to operating seven days a week in mid-March. "This is just seasonal reduction in hours in January, February, and early March, times when historically very few visitors traditionally come. Seasonal reductions in hours are frankly standard operating procedure in the museum world," he said.

The park is also reconsidering how it approaches living history at the fort, where over the past 50 years, reenactors have posed as Native Americans, fur traders and buffalo hunters, U.S. Army soldiers, and stage company employees, among other figures who would have passed through during Colorado's frontier days.

Leonard stated that one change being considered is a shift to smaller and more regularly occurring programs "so that more visitors can learn about the unique stories at Bent’s Old Fort."

However, no changes have yet been made.

Leonard addresses community concerns about the fort's future

Recent changes at the fort have sparked some controversy in the community, prompting a letter from Colorado State Representative from District 47 Ty Winter opposing the changes. Winter's letter was published in the local Southeast Colorado News.

Otero County Commissioners have also opposed any changes until a town hall is held on the matter.

However, the condition of the building has forced the park service's hand, Leonard said.

"The fundamental bottom line is that the condition of the building does not allow us to conduct business as usual. The ground floor is still open completely to visitors, however, the closure of the second level will not be short and will require us to change," he said.

"We should take that opportunity and make sure that visitors, employees, and animals all have a safe experience at Bent's Old Fort."

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formally known as Twitter, @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Bent's Old Fort undergoing changes as NPS fights deteriorating building