Big Timbers is a wooded

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

area in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

along both banks of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

that is famous as a campsite for native American tribes and travelers on the Mountain Branch of the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

Description

The Spanish knew this area as ''La Casa de Palo'' or the House of Wood, because wood was scarce along the banks of the Arkansas River except for that specific area. Cottonwood was the primary type of timber found there. It known by its Spanish name following

Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding fa ...

's defeat of

Cuerno Verde Cuerno Verde (died September 3, 1779) is the Spanish name for Tavibo Naritgant, a leader of the Comanche, likely of the Kotsoteka Comanche, in the late 18th century. Life Cuerno Verde ("Green Horn" in English), is the Spanish name given to Tavi ...

and the parties signed a peace treaty there in 1785–1786. At its greatest extent, Big Timbers may have stretched from the mouth of the Purgatoire to the present-day Kansas-Colorado border, a distance of

Winter camping ground

Seasonally the Cheyenne that camped at Bent's Old Fort moved down the Arkansas River from their camp to Big Timbers. Alongside the Arkansas River for Big Timbers was a prime location for hunting buffalo, a major source of food for the Cheyenne. The tribe also lived on roots and berries. Big Timbers was their desired camp site in the winter, due to the relatively mild weather. BigTimbersPlaque

According to Hyde,

William Bent William Wells Bent (May 23, 1809 – May 19, 1869) was a frontier trader and rancher in the American West, with forts in Colorado. He also acted as a mediator among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United St ...

's wife,

Owl Woman Owl Woman (Cheyenne name: ''Mis-stan-stur''; died 1847) was a Cheyenne woman.Varnell, p. 7., a daughter of White Thunder, a well-respected medicine man of the Cheyenne tribe. She was married to an Anglo-American trader named William Bent, with ...

and her children traveled with her tribe to Big Timbers during the winter months and were at the fort itself during the summer. During the Cheyenne's winter visit to Big Timbers, Bent accompanied his family with goods for trading. At Big Timbers, Bent lived in accordance with Cheyenne customs which was a more casual, unstructured way of life. His life at Bent's Fort was somewhat structured with William having a leadership role.Halaas, David Fridtjof; Masich, Andrew Edward (2004)
Halfbreed: the remarkable true story of George Bent
Da Capo Press. p. 62

Trading

A favorite camping ground for the Cheyenne and Arapaho,

located Bent's New Fort near Big Timbers and present-day Lamar to trade with the Native Americans.

Alexander Barclay Dr Alexander Barclay (c. 1476 – 10 June 1552) was a poet and clergyman of the Church of England, probably born in Scotland. Biography Barclay was born in about 1476. His place of birth is matter of dispute, but William Bulleyn, who w ...

and William Tharp also traded at Big Timbers.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Geography of Prowers County, Colorado Santa Fe Trail Native American history of Colorado Cheyenne tribe Arapaho