It was the winter home to Comanche, Green River Shoshoni and Ute tribes. Chartered in 1805 by Lewis and Clark, it was foraged by Euro-American hunters and fur trappers. In the 1830s, several mountain men built a mud-and-timber trading post, a social hub for travelers. Called Fort Davy Crockett, it was known as "Fort Misery." After an associate joined a band of thieves, stole some horses and escaped capture, the partnership folded and the abandoned fort turned to rubble.