Near Jeffrey City in Fremont County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Ice Slough
Photographed By Duane Hall, July 31, 2010
1. Ice Slough Marker
Inscription.
Ice Slough is a small stream that flows into the Sweetwater River five miles east of here. In front of this point is a slough (i.e. a marsh or shallow un-drained depression). This slough gave the name to the stream east of here. In the "Ice Slough" the marshes soils and plants insulated the previous winter's ice and it melted slowly throughout the summer. Under the marshes a thick mat of ice could be found late into June or early July. Westward bound immigrants would stop their wagons here for the purpose of breaking out chunks of ice to use in their drinks and to preserve meat. William Clayton's 1848 "Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide" called this the "ice spring" and wrote "This is in a low, swampy spot of land on the right side of the road. Ice may generally be found by digging down about two feet." In 1854 Alonzo Delano traveled up the valley of the Sweetwater. While not giving the exact location of where he stopped he wrote on June 26th "... About four o'clock in the afternoon, on the borders of a morass, perhaps a mile in length by a half mile in breadth. Some of the boys, thinking that water could be easily obtained, took a spade, and going out on the wild grass, commenced digging. About a foot from the surface, instead of water, they struck a beautiful layer of ice, five or six inches in thickness." By late summer the ice had often disappeared. Today, due to a number of factors, the slough has nearly dried up and thus little ice forms here in the winter.
Ice Slough is a small stream that flows into the Sweetwater River five miles east of here. In front of this point is a slough (i.e. a marsh or shallow un-drained depression). This slough gave the name to the stream east of here. In the "Ice Slough" the marshes soils and plants insulated the previous winter's ice and it melted slowly throughout the summer. Under the marshes a thick mat of ice could be found late into June or early July. Westward bound immigrants would stop their wagons here for the purpose of breaking out chunks of ice to use in their drinks and to preserve meat. William Clayton's 1848 "Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide" called this the "ice spring" and wrote "This is in a low, swampy spot of land on the right side of the road. Ice may generally be found by digging down about two feet." In 1854 Alonzo Delano traveled up the valley of the Sweetwater. While not giving the exact location of where he stopped he wrote on June 26th "... About four o'clock in the afternoon, on the borders of a morass, perhaps a mile in length by a half mile in breadth. Some of the boys, thinking that water could be easily obtained, took a spade, and going out on the wild grass, commenced digging. About a foot from the surface, instead of water, they struck a beautiful layer of ice, five or six inches in thickness." By late summer the ice had
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often disappeared. Today, due to a number of factors, the slough has nearly dried up and thus little ice forms here in the winter.
Location. 42° 31.039′ N, 108° 0.514′ W. Marker is near Jeffrey City, Wyoming, in Fremont County. Marker is on U.S. 287, 1.7 miles west of Happy Springs Rd, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located along the route of the California - Mormon - Oregon Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Jeffrey City WY 82310, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Ice Slough on the California - Mormon - Oregon Trail
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 23, 2012, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,405 times since then and 98 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 23, 2012, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.