November 29, 1920. Monday Events.

The U.S. Post Office held a Christmas themed parade in Washington D. C. on this day in 1920.

On the same day, the Red Army invaded Armenia.

Soviet troops in Armenia.

Lenin famously declared the right of self determination of nations, none of which stopped the infant Soviet Union from invading those areas which had declared their independence and which had been part of Imperial Russia. The Baltic States had to fight for their independence, and by this point Poland and the Soviet Union had fought a war in which, had the Soviets won, and they nearly did, would have imposed Communism on Poland in 1920 and probably would have reincorporated the country into the Soviet Union.  Trotsky at the time, moreover, envisioned the Red Army continuing on to Berlin.

Armenia would regain her independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, but the oldest officially Christian nation in the world has continued to be beset by its neighbors to the present day.

Also on this day a newspaper photographer photographed the eclectic Adelaide Johnson.

Piece of marble being moved by oxen using a stone boat.

Johnson was a feminist sculptor who was able to launch her career following a settlement she received in a tragic accident.  She sculpted female centric themes and in later years would fall into poverty as she wouldn't sell her works for the prices she was offered, figuring they commanded more. She destroyed some publicly in later years in protests over this.  Her "bridesmaids" at her wedding were three sculpted figures of feminist and suffrage heroes, which might, or might not, be the work depicted below.

Today In Wyoming's History: Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming

Today In Wyoming's History: Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming:

Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming

Where Ft. Halleck was, from a great distance.

This set of photographs attempts to record something from a very great distance, and with the improper lenses.   I really should have known better, quite frankly, and forgot to bring the lense that would have been ideal.  None the less, looking straight up the center of this photograph, you'll see where Ft. Halleck once was.

The post was located at the base of Elk Mountain on the Overland Trail, that "shortcut" alternative to the Oregon Trail that shaved miles, at the expense of convenience and risk.  Ft. Halleck was built in 1862 to reduce the risk.  Whomever located the post must have done so in the summer, as placing a post on this location would seem, almost by definition, to express a degree of ignorance as to what the winters here are like.

 The area to the northeast of where Ft. Halleck once was.

The fort was only occupied until 1866, although it was a major post during that time.  Ft. Sanders, outside the present city of Laramie, made the unnecessary and to add to that, Sanders was in a more livable 

Of course, by that time the Union Pacific was also progressing through the area, and that would soon render the Overland Trail obsolete.  While not on an identical path the Overland Trail and the Union Pacific approximated each others routes and, very shortly, troops would be able to travel by rail.

As that occured, it would also be the case that guarding the railroad would become a more important function for the Army, and forts soon came to be placed on it.

Elk Mountain

And, therefore, Ft. Halleck was abandoned.