Near Green River in Sweetwater County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)

Bryan

Photographed by Duane Hall, July 6, 2013

1. Bryan Marker

Inscription. In September 1868 the Union Pacific Railroad established the town of Bryan, named for Lt. Francis Theodore Bryan, a surveyor. The town was located eleven miles west of Green River and north of this location. Passing beyond the settlement at Green River, the Union Pacific planned on Bryan serving as the 1868 terminus for the railroad. Within a few months, Bryan contained a twelve-stall roundhouse, warehouses, and machine shops as well as restaurants, a boot maker, gunsmith, bank, and concert hall. As an "end of the tracks" town, Bryan thrived—a wild "hell-on-wheels" frontier community. Bryan also served as the major jumping off point for travel north to the Sweetwater Mining District and the gold mines around South Pass City eighty miles to the northeast. Would-be miners and canvas-topped wagons piled high with goods of all types departed daily for South Pass.

Bryan's population reached an estimated 5,000 before December of 1868. At the end of that year, the crucial water supply from the nearby Black's Fork River dried up. As a result, the roundhouse, other facilities, and much of the population moved back to Green

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River. By 1872, Bryan existed only as a ghost town.

Erected by Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1868.

Location. 41° 32.734′ N, 109° 41.819′ W. Marker is near Green River, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County. It is on State Highway 374 0.1 miles west of Lozier Ranch Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Green River WY 82935, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Wyoming’s Westward Expansion Trails Region.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: All Because of an Ancient Lake (approx. 11.4 miles away); Barren Land? (approx. 11.4 miles away).

Stage at Bryan, 1872 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, July 6, 2013

2. Stage at Bryan, 1872

Close-up of image on marker

Photographed by Duane Hall, July 6, 2013

3. Bryan Marker

Train on Union Pacific Railroad tracks in background

View to west along State Route 374 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, July 6, 2013

4. View to west along State Route 374

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 2,006 times since then and 103 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 16, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.