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

Construction and Cooling:

River Industries

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

1. Construction and Cooling Marker

Inscription. The Green River has long been a workplace for several major industries, providing jobs to many people in the area. Harvest of railroad ties was one of the first to develop. From 1868 to 1945, spring runoff signaled the arrival of the ties and tie hacks. Tie hacks were men who cut and shaped ties in the forests of the Upper Green River and floated them down to town where they stacked up against a large gate or boom across the river. The hacks' final job was loading ties onto railcars for shipment to creosote treatment plants. Sawn lumber was a related business. A steam-powered sawmill near the confluence of the Green River and Bitter Creek provided lumber for construction of the expanding towns of southwest Wyoming. This mill operated from 1868 to 1920.
In the days before refrigeration, ice harvest was an important seasonal industry. In the winter blocks of natural ice were cut from the frozen river by horse drawn and hand saws. The ice was hauled to ice houses, three each in Green River and Rock Springs, where it was tightly packed and insulated with sawdust. Ice was marketed to homes and businesses where it chilled

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food and beverage throughout the summer.
Cutting railroad ties and river ice were dangerous jobs for the hardy, adventurous men of the early days. Today, concrete and steel ties replace wood and the modern refrigerator is common-place. While ice houses and tie hacks have disappeared, the fish in the Green River have not. You can still find people "working" on the river today, working to catch the "big one" in the river below.

Erected by Green River Chamber of Commerce, City of Green River, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Sweetwater County Historical Museum, Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming and Wyoming Governors's Big Game License Coalition.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce.

Location. 41° 32.222′ N, 109° 28.863′ W. Marker is in Green River, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County. It is on West Flaming Gorge Way (County Route 374) near Hillcrest Way, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1155 West Flaming Gorge Way, Green River WY 82935, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

2. Construction and Cooling Marker

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 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Green River: No Longer Wild, Forever Tamed (a few steps from this marker); Crossing and Cruising: (within shouting distance of this marker); The 24-Hour Town (within shouting distance of this marker); Green River Brewery (approx. 0.9 miles away); Oregon Trail Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); John Wesley Powell (approx. 0.9 miles away); The Paddlewheeler Comet - 1908 (approx. one mile away); Sunbeam - 1908 (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Green River.

More about this marker. This marker is located at the Green River Visitor's Center.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 380 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 28, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.