Point of Rocks

Point of Rocks. . After the Civil War, the Union Pacific laid track westward, bringing commerce to the wilderness. Establishment of the transcontinental railroad and the communities which sprung up around the railroads helped settle the Territory of Wyoming., With the 1868 discovery of gold in the South Pass area, the Overland Mail Station and the small community here became a supply depot for the Sweetwater gold rush. A stage road between the rail head and the gold field was quickly established. The town bristle with activity as it funneled miners to the gold strike and provided for their needs. There were several stage companies competing furiously for business until the collapse of the gold rush as the Sweetwater mines played out., The United State Census for 1870 lists sixty-five persons residing in fourteen dwellings at Point of Rocks. Eleven Irish, eight English, and two Scottish laborers were included in the population. The Justice of the Peace was forty-five year old Carolyn Neal, a woman born in England. Her husband Robert was a clerk for the railroad. The only Wyoming-born residents of town were William and James Whalen, born of Irish parents. The community included housekeepers, store keepers, hotel keepers, carpenters, grocers, teamsters, telegraph operators, baggage men, firemen and engineers., Point of Rocks has been a welcoming host for the Overland Stage Route, Cherokee Trail, Union Pacific Railroad, Point of Rocks to South Pass City Stage Route, Lincoln Highway, U.S. Route 30, Interstate 80 and even the Information Superhighway. . This historical marker was erected in 2008 by Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails. It is in Point of Rocks in Sweetwater County Wyoming