Fort Laramie (also less often, its name into the 1870s Fort John) was a significant 19th century trading post and diplomatic site located in the lower Platte River Valley in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Founded in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century, it sat at the valley bottom of the long climb leading to the best and lowest crossing point to western descending valleys and so was a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail.