Fort Laramie

This project was undertaken by the National Park Service, Intermountain Region, in cooperation with the University of Colorado Denver, Center of Preservation Research and CyArk.

Fort Laramie National Historic Site was originally established as a private fur trading fort in 1834. Situated in western Wyoming, the site witnessed the entire sweeping saga of America’s western expansion and Indian resistance to encroachment on their territories. Indians, trappers, traders, missionaries, emigrants, gold seekers, soldiers, cowboys and homesteaders would leave their mark on a place that would become famous in the American West. In 2009 the site was the subject of a digital preservation pilot project between the National Park Service, CyArk, and the University of Colorado Denver.

Field documentation took place in 2009, during which laser scanning and photography were used to produce a digital record of Fort Laramie. The digital information gathered during the field documentation was used to create media for preservation, education, and virtual tourism. All of the media is showcased on the CyArk website.