First Tie Drive on Green River

First Tie Drive on Green River. . Because timber was scarce in neighboring states along the first transcontinental railroad line, the tie business flourished here and in other Wyoming mountain locations. Ties were cut in winter, stored on the river bank until spring, and floated downstream during high water. , Charles DeLoney was a youthful Michigan Civil War veteran who came to Wyoming after the war. An experienced timberman, he contracted with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867 to supply ties. A crew of 30 men hauled equipment and supplies upriver and constructed a combined office-bunkhouse-cookshack-commissary building between this marker and the river. Cabins were built high in the timber, forcing the men to snowshoe for meals. DeLoney’s was the first tie drive down the river, a trip of 130 miles. Ties were skidded down nearby hills and held by a boom across the river until the drive. Another boom at Green River City caught ties near the railhead. The operation continued successfully for two years, and newspaper advertisements as late as fall, 1868 solicited tie hacks to work at the head of the Green River. , Charles DeLoney was a versatile person. He was a rancher, a pioneer merchant in Jackson and helped found the town of Evanston. He was the state’s first forest supervisor and served in Wyoming territorial and state legislatures.