Wender·Vista
Fort Laramie cavalry barracks
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileWyoming
on the North Platte in eastern Wyoming

Fort Laramie cavalry barracks

— the long porch the cavalry came home to.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The cavalry barracks at Fort Laramie went up in 1874, a long two-story frame building with a deep porch on the parade ground. The post had stood at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte rivers since 1834, first as a fur post, then the army's anchor on the central plains. Every Oregon Trail wagon train passed through. The barracks still stand on the original foundation.

from the studio
Fort Laramie cavalry barracks
— bring it home

Fort Laramie cavalry barracks, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Fort Laramie cavalry barracks

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Fort Laramie National Historic Site lies in Goshen County, eastern Wyoming, at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte at roughly 4,250 feet of elevation. The site covers 833 acres of cottonwood bottomland three miles southwest of the town of Fort Laramie. Twelve original or reconstructed buildings stand on the parade ground, including the 1874 cavalry barracks, Old Bedlam (1849), and the post sutler's store. The site has been administered by the National Park Service since 1938.

— the stone

The cavalry barracks were built in 1874 to house Company K of the 2nd Cavalry, a two-story frame structure 154 feet long with a full-length porch on both stories facing the parade ground. The lower floor held mess and squad rooms, the upper floor the company's bunks for roughly sixty men. The Park Service restored the building in the 1960s with original lumber where possible and reproduction window glass. Old Bedlam, the bachelor officers' quarters from 1849, is the oldest surviving military building in Wyoming.

— informed by NPS — Cavalry Barracks
— the year

Fort Laramie began as a fur trading post called Fort William in 1834, became Fort John in 1841, and was bought by the US Army in 1849 to protect Oregon Trail emigrants. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie and the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie were both negotiated on the parade ground. The post was active through the Indian Wars, decommissioned in 1890, and held in private hands until the National Park Service took it on in 1938. Living-history programs run summers.

— informed by NPS — History
— where
United States · Goshen County, Wyoming
— within
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
— elevation
1,295 m · 4,250 ft
— position
42.2055° N · 104.5575° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
5 km NE
Fort Laramie
town
20 km W
Guernsey
town
35 km E
Torrington
town
1 km N
North Platte River
river
N
Fort Laramie cavalry barracks
Fort Laramie
Guernsey
Torrington
North Platte River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Fort Laramie cavalry barracks — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The cavalry barracks went up in 1874 to house Company K of the 2nd Cavalry, replacing earlier enlisted quarters. The two-story frame building stretches 154 feet along the north side of the parade ground.

Old Bedlam, the bachelor officers' quarters built in 1849, is the oldest surviving military building in Wyoming. It served as headquarters and quarters through most of the post's active military period.

The post sat at the central crossing of the North Platte where the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails converged. The 1851 and 1868 Treaties of Fort Laramie were both negotiated on the parade ground.

The barracks housed the enlisted men of a single cavalry company, roughly sixty soldiers, with mess and squad rooms on the lower floor and bunks above. Officers lived in separate quarters on the south side.

The Army decommissioned Fort Laramie in March 1890. The buildings stood in private ranching hands until 1938, when the federal government purchased the site and the National Park Service took over preservation.

The site lies three miles southwest of the town of Fort Laramie in Goshen County, eastern Wyoming, on US Highway 26 between Torrington and Guernsey. Cheyenne is about ninety miles south.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Fort Laramie carries weight for descendants of soldiers, pioneers, or anyone with Wyoming roots. A Medium or Large in glossy finish suits a study or library; a Coaster Set travels well as a smaller keepsake.

The white frame barracks and parade ground palette suit Western traditional, Heritage Americana, and warm Library interiors. The piece pairs cleanly with walnut, brass, and unbleached linen, and anchors a study without competing.

Yes. Heritage rooms are returning to specific named historic places over generic frontier scenes. Fort Laramie gives the room a real treaty ground and a real cavalry post rather than a stylized motif.

A single Large covers most sofas; a four-tile Mural reads as one image on a wider wall. Above a console, a Medium or three-tile Triptych holds the proportion.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both resist water and scratching well enough for a backsplash or shower surround. The glossy finish is reserved for dry walls.

A microfibre cloth and water. No sprays, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the surface and the thin glossy finish wipes clean of dust and smudges easily.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house by Reid Wender at the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing is licensed in, and each place gets its own composition.

— if this one stayed with you

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