Thanks so much for posting these photos, gillenkl! They are great! I love to look at old Ft. Wilderness photos (and new ones too).
Does anyone know the location where the first photo was taken? Since it says Tri-Circle-D Ranch, I am assuming that this was not at the Fort entrance. If I recall my Fort history correctly, the Tri-Circle-D Ranch originally occupied the space where River Country was eventually constructed (River Country did not open until 1976). It is my understanding that the ranch was then divided, and part of it moved to the present location in the Settlement area, and the other part moved up front to the location in the Outpost area.
The men playing instruments appear to be standing on the side porch of the Settlement Trading Post. I wonder if this was a regular occurrence back in the day, or whether this was some type of special event?
I have never seen a photo of a tram like the one you posted! As I understand it, the Ft. Wilderness Rail Road opened some time after the Fort was officially opened. This tram must have been what was used for transportation before that. It looks so out of date now, but I'll bet it was considered state of the art, or even futuristic, in 1972.
As someone already noted, the little boat appears to be in the small lake adjacent to the playground near the 300 loop. There is still an old sign at the Fort that identifies this playground as the Ft. Apache playground. As I understand it, the Bike Barn used to be located in this area. It looks like boat rentals must have been handled here too.
These photos are priceless!
Thanks again.
TCD