The construction of Bent's Fort took the form of a parallelogram, with the northern and southern sides being about 150 feet long. The eastern and western sides measured about 100 feet in length. The walls of this adobe fort were six or seven feet thick at the base and rose to between seventeen and eighteen feet high. On the eastern side a pair of immense plank doors provided an entrance. At both the northwestern and southeastern corners of the fort stood two somewhat cylindrical bastions. These were about 10 feet in diameter and towered to some 30 feet high. The bastions were provided with portals for the discharging of cannon and small arms.
The inside of the fort was divided into two parts, the larger of the two being in the northeastern portion. This section was nearly a square containing a group of two-story houses, a well, and a blacksmith shop.
In the west and south portions of the fort were houses consisting of one story, another blacksmith shop and the gate. The major part of the fort's business was conducted here. Also, the owners and their servants had there living quarters here, as well as storehouses. It was here that the Indians would gather to trade or barter under guard.
From this area of trade, or business, a passage led between the eastern outer wall and the one-story houses to the caral were horses, mules and other stock were kept in safety from Indian depredations at night. To the west, beyond the caral, was the wagon-house. This building could hold from 12 or 15 large wagons that were used in conveying the robes and other goods to be traded elsewhere.
The entire fort was constructed of adobies, unburnt bricks, and cemented together with clay. The roofs of the buildings where made of beaten clay and were supported by heavy cross-timbers covered with brush. The roofs of the houses were flat and graveled, providing a convenient place to enjoy moonlit evenings.
Bent's Fort was a busy place, employing about 60 men. Fifteen or twenty of these men, led by one of the owners, would often be gone, taking buffalo robes and other goods to market and returning with a new stock of trade goods. At the same time another group of men, employed as hunters, would be out on the surrounding plains hunting buffalo to supply the fort with meat while still another group would be guarding grazing stock. Often another party, led by an experienced trader, would be traveling some distance to an Indian camp for the purpose of trading. At all times one of the owners and a group of men had to remain at the fort to defend it in case of attack and also for the purpose of trade, keeping the books and a multitude of other necessary tasks required in running the establishment.
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