The Civilians:

The Civilians:. Living Outside the Post. , Because the regulations would not allow non-military dependent civilians to reside inside Fort Phil Kearny, several civilian dwellings existed outside the post stockade on the valley plain below, and in the Quartermaster corral to the south. These homes varied in size and degree of construction. Some were built as notched cornered log cabins with shingled roofs, others were of pole construction with sod roofs, while others were mere dugouts in the northeast slope of the stockade line. Depressions from these dugouts are still visible today., Civilians provided many services for the military and travelers of the Bozeman Trail. James Wheatley and Issac Fisher built a way-station and restaurant. Another eatery and the only known garden were managed by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Washington. Walter J. Harden and F.J. Fairbrast had a small “ranche” and billiard room. This building undoubtedly provided after-hours entertainment for the soldiers. One large group of about 40 gold-miners, under the leadership of Robert Bailey, arrived in the fall of 1866. They stayed through the winter working for both civilian contractors and carpenters or blacksmiths for the military., Unfortunately, the civilians often got caught up in the military activities. Wheatley and Fisher volunteered to go with Captain Fetterman’s command on December 21, 1866 and lost their lives that day. Remarkably, Mrs. Wheatley continued to run the way-station until the fort’s closure. John “Portugee” Phillips, part of the Bailey miners, rode for relief following the Fetterman fight and later settled in Southern Wyoming.