Horseshoe Creek Station

Horseshoe Creek Station. . During the 1850s and 1860s, wagon freighters fed and watered mules and oxen, exchanged tired stagecoach horses for fresh ones, and conducted other tasks at the historic Horseshoe Creek Station near here. A nearly endless stream of emigrants from the eastern United States and from around the world stopped here. , Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints realized the importance of a dependable mail and passenger service between the east and the Salt Lake Valley. The Church-operated Brigham Young Express and Carrying Company (BYX) constructed the Horseshoe Creek Station complex in 1856, beginning a new community. , Tensions between the U.S. government and the Church reached a point that in 1857 a U.S. Military expedition was mounted to replace the Utah Territorial Governor Brigham Young. While accounts of the event vary, the Horseshoe Creek Station site fell victim to the violence and was set ablaze. In August. 1857 BYX disbanded its stations between Fort Laramie and Salt Lake City. , The station complex was later rebuilt and other operators, including the short-lived Pony Express, used the station for several years. In December 1866 John "Portugee" Phillips stopped at the Horseshoe Creek Station during his legendary 235-mile ride through a blizzard from Fort Phil Kearny to Fort Laramie to telegraph the military that troops were surrounded by hostile Sioux and Cheyenne warriors and needed assistance.