Reliance in Sweetwater County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)

Women and the Reliance Mines

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

1. Women and the Reliance Mines Marker

Inscription. From 1910 to 1955, the mines at Reliance produced coal for the Union Pacific Railroad. To staff these mines, people from a variety of countries were hired. During World War II there were not enough mine workers to extract the coal. People were brought in from Oklahoma and Arkansas and housed in railroad cars. Yet there were still not enough workers, and women entered the work force in the coal industry. Women had long been considered bad luck underground, and this superstition died slowly. One of the first places women found work was in the Reliance tipple. Working alongside men in the black dust, women sorted coal throughout the war years. Here, at the "picking tables'" inside the Reliance tipple, dust-covered women sorted coal amidst the deafening noise of the now silent shaking screens.

Erected by Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Women.

Location. 41° 40.096′ N, 109° 11.808′ W. Marker is in Reliance, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County.

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It is on South Street near 2nd Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1201 South Street, Reliance WY 82943, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the 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 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Reliance Tipple (within shouting distance of this marker); Tipples and the Reliance Coal Mines (within shouting distance of this marker); Rock Spring Stage Station Site (approx. 4.8 miles away); Rock Springs Coal (approx. 5.8 miles away); "Charlie Smith" (approx. 5.8 miles away); A Tragedy Remembered (approx. 5.8 miles away); Beneath This Monument (approx. 5.8 miles away); Rock Springs Coal Welcome Sign (approx. 5.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Reliance.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

2. Women and the Reliance Mines Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 469 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 20, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.