Near Sinks Canyon Road (State Highway 131), on the left.
“The Sinks” are a series of cracks and crevices at the back of the cavern before you. The water of the Popo Agie River flows into the Sinks. It then reappears at the “Rise of the Sinks,” a large calm pool ¼ mile down canyon. . . . — — Map (db m95824) HM
Near U.S. 287, 12 miles east of Wyoming Highway 28.
Viewed from Beaver Rim, the Wind River Mountains, part of the Rocky Mountain chain, boast 53 granite peaks over 13,000 feet high. The Continental Divide runs the length of the Wind River Range. Water on the east side of the Continental Divide flows . . . — — Map (db m67012) HM
Near Main Street (U.S. 287) near Clinched Street, on the left when traveling west.
This schoolhouse was built by John Borner along the Old Indian Trail near the mouth of Sinks Canyon. Mr. Borner was well known by residents of Lander for is large, plentiful garden. He was married in 1875 to Lena (Jenny) Canary, the sister of the . . . — — Map (db m95865) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near South 3rd Street, on the left when traveling west.
This unique ornate building has been on Lander's Main Street since 1893. Built by Thomas J. Bossert and it was used for his dry goods store. He ran it as a "cash only" store. He advertised clothing at lower prices than every offered in Lander. He . . . — — Map (db m95870) HM
On Main Street (Route 287) near South 3rd Street, on the left.
The Fremont served guests for eighty years on the corner of Main and 3rd, from 1891 to 1971. Jerry Sheehan had the foresight to build an out-of-the ordinary hotel in an isolated western town. Mr. Sheehan was no stranger to the hotel business. Prior . . . — — Map (db m95872) HM
Near U.S. 287, 12 miles east of Wyoming Highway 28.
The Historic Mine Trail and Byway Program designated the Gold Flakes to Yellowstone Historic Mine Trail in 2005. This trail links significant finds of gold, iron ore, and uranium, each of which played important roles in Wyoming's history.
The . . . — — Map (db m67011) HM
On State Highway 28, 1.1 miles north of Louis Lake Road, on the right when traveling south.
The Historic Mine Trail and Byway Program designated the Gold Flakes to Yellowstone Historic Mine Trail in 2005. This trail links significant finds of gold, iron ore, and uranium, each of which played important roles in Wyoming's history.
The . . . — — Map (db m67015) HM
On North 2nd Street at Main Street, on the right when traveling south on North 2nd Street.
This building located at 202 Main Street in Lander, WY has weathered over a century of storied & varied history. The building before you was commissioned by, & constructed for, the local International Order of Odd Fellows in 1886. Initially the Odd . . . — — Map (db m131600) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 2nd Street, on the right when traveling west.
In 1886, the social society, the International Order of Odd Fellows, funded the construction of this brick building. The Odd Fellows held their meeting upstairs which was reported as handsomely furnished, and was supplied with “electric . . . — — Map (db m95965) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 2nd Street, on the right when traveling west.
The Lander Hotel was one of the first businesses on Lander’s dusty Main Street. It began as an eating place and stopover for bull-team freighters on their way to Fort Washakie. It was a one-story, four-room log building built by Ben Decora. Later . . . — — Map (db m95961) HM
On East Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 1st Street, on the right when traveling west.
Scouts and Trappers visited this area by 1811 and rendezvous were held in 1829, in 1830, and in 1836.
Camp Magraw, 1857, site 2.1 miles north.
Fort Thompson, 1857-1858, was located 4.4 miles north of here.
Camp Augur, 1869-1870, . . . — — Map (db m95785) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near South First Street, on the left when traveling west.
By 1887-88 the farmers were pushing for a local flour mill and went as far as putting up some of their own money to entice someone to take on the project. At that time, wheat was grown in abundance but little was sold except as chicken feed. J. D. . . . — — Map (db m95967) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 3rd Street, on the right when traveling west.
Major Noyes Baldwin and his wife, Josephine Wright Baldwin, were some of the earliest settlers in the Lander Valley. Before establishing the dry good store in Lander, he had a trading post near Hudson, Wyoming, a log trading post on Baldwin Creek, . . . — — Map (db m95946) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near South 2nd Street, on the left when traveling west.
J.K. Moore, post trader at Fort Washakie, built the large store shown in mid-photo in the early 1880s. It was later to be one of the most elaborate saloons in the entire west, fitted out with glassware and furniture cut in the shape of diamonds. . . . — — Map (db m95868) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 3rd Street, on the right when traveling west.
The Noble Hotel has been a landmark in downtown Lander since it was built in 1918. The grand hotel was built to serve visitors from the East on their way to Yellowstone. Harold Del Monte bought the hotel in 1929 and set out to recreate the Noble as . . . — — Map (db m95947) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near North 3rd Street, on the right when traveling west.
This building was the second home to the Noble and Lane Mercantile Business. The face of the mercantile building has changed. It was originally built by Worden P. Noble and Albert D. Lane in 1891. The stone building next to it is where their . . . — — Map (db m95944) HM
On Oregon Buttes Road at Emigrant Trail, on the left when traveling south on Oregon Buttes Road.
To the south stand the Oregon Buttes, a major trail landmark. The name is significant because the Buttes were roughly the beginning of the Oregon Territory and also helped keep emigrants encouraged, even though there were still hundreds of miles of . . . — — Map (db m80499) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 287) near South 2nd Street, on the left when traveling west.
In 1891, Eugene Amoretti, successful businessman and one of the “town fathers,” financed the construction of this building. It was the original home of the Palace Pharmacy. The building was large enough to house many different . . . — — Map (db m95970) HM
Near Sinks Canyon Road (State Highway 131), on the right when traveling west.
In 1919 the Sinks Canyon Hydro Electric Company built a power plant in the canyon to provide electricity for Lander. A dam was built upstream of the Sinks. The dam diverted part of the Popo Agie River into a pipeline which carried the water to the . . . — — Map (db m95820) HM
On Dickinson Avenue (State Highway 28) at Red Canyon Road, on the right when traveling west on Dickinson Avenue.
Red Canyon is cooperatively managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the State of Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management and private landowners.
The spectacular orange and red sandstone formations you see here have been exposed through . . . — — Map (db m80132) HM
On Dickinson Avenue (State Highway 28) near Red Canyon Road, on the right when traveling west.
The Red Canyon Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) before you is a crucial part of the entire winter range complex along the Southern Wind River Mountains in the Lander Area. The 1785 acres of the Red Canyon WHMA were purchased in 1958 primarily . . . — — Map (db m96368) HM
On Dickinson Avenue near Skyline Road, on the right when traveling west.
In 1842, gold was first found in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming by a fur trapper, Georgia Tom Mckeever of the American Fur Company. Mckeever passed before he could get his gold to an assayer, leaving location unknown. Given the hostile . . . — — Map (db m152989) HM
On Oregon Trail, on the right when traveling west.
At 7000 feet above sea level, Rocky Ridge is the highest point on the Mormon and Oregon Trails. This elevation, lack of water, and rugged landscape presented a challenge to early pioneers. The trail over Rocky Ridge is approximately two miles long . . . — — Map (db m96621) HM
On Sinks Canyon Road (State Highway 131), on the right when traveling west.
From the time the glaciers of the last Ice Age retreated about 16,000 years ago, people have journeyed into Sinks Canyon. The canyon is a natural pathway into and over the southern Wind River Mountains. For thousands of years people, and wildlife, . . . — — Map (db m95818) HM
On Sinks Canyon Road (State Highway 131), on the left when traveling west.
The heavily timbered slope before you provides excellent habitat for many species of wildlife. Douglas Fir trees with Oregon Grape, Mountain Lover, Snowberry, Wild Rose and many other shrubs in the under story, cover the slope. Vegetation is thicker . . . — — Map (db m95825) HM
On State Highway 789 near Chittim Road, on the left when traveling north.
In 1856 the United States Congress appropriated money to build the central division of the Fort Kearney-South Pass-Honey Lake Wagon Road from Nebraska to California. W.M.F. Magraw was appointed superintendent by the Secretary of the Interior. He was . . . — — Map (db m96164) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.8 miles north of Lander Cutoff Road.
The South Pass, in which you are now located, is perhaps the most significant transportation-gateway through the Rocky Mountains. Indians, mountain men, Oregon Trail emigrants, Pony Express riders, and miners all recognized the value of this . . . — — Map (db m67016) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.7 miles south of Lander-Pinedale Stage Road.
From where you're standing South Pass doesn't look all that remarkable. But compared to the rugged Wind River Mountains, it can easily be recognized as a type of gateway.
Nevertheless, crossing the Continental Divide into "Oregon Country" was a . . . — — Map (db m67020) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.7 miles south of Lander-Pinedale Stage Road.
Even after the discovery of South Pass in 1824, it was years before the route was used extensively. Fur trapper/trader William Sublette brought a small caravan of wagons to South Pass in 1828. While his party did not take wagons over the pass, they . . . — — Map (db m67021) HM
South Pass was discovered in 1812 by a small band of Astorians led by Robert Stuart as they traveled east with dispatches for John Jacob Astor. It was “rediscovered” in 1824 by a party led by Jedediah Smith as they searched for a winter . . . — — Map (db m80501) HM
On State Highway 28, 1.1 miles north of Louis Lake Road, on the right when traveling south.
The hills of the Sweetwater Mining District hold various minerals, and beginning in the 1960s, iron ore mining provided an economic boom for the area. In 1960 the U.S. Steel Corporation broke ground on the nation's highest open pit iron ore mine at . . . — — Map (db m67014) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.7 miles south of Lander-Pinedale Stage Road.
The trail over South Pass is a transportation corridor which served many purposes. In addition to being the route to Oregon and California, it was used by Mormon pioneers and by the Pony Express.
A great exodus to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 . . . — — Map (db m67019) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.7 miles south of Lander-Pinedale Stage Road.
The demand for beaver pelts in the early 1800s led to the exploration and eventual settlement of the American West. South Pass was part of a major thoroughfare through the Rockies and its discovery is significant to the era known as the fur trade. . . . — — Map (db m67022) HM
The Oregon Trail
In memory of those who passed this way to win and hold the West
Plaque placed by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming
1950 — — Map (db m80504) HM
On Sinks Canyon Road (State Highway 131), on the right when traveling west.
The Rise of the Sinks is a large spring where the water of the middle fork of the Popo Agie River reappears after flowing into a limestone cavern called the Sinks, located a quarter of a mile upstream.
The water flows underground following an . . . — — Map (db m95819) HM
Near State Highway 28, 0.7 miles south of Lander-Pinedale Stage Road.
With South Pass behind them, Oregon and California-bound travelers faced the second half of their journey. The roughest travel was yet to come. From Missouri to South Pass, emigrants were able to follow rivers. But from South Pass to Oregon and . . . — — Map (db m67018) HM
On Wyoming Route 28, on the right when traveling north.
The Twin Mounds are a minor landmark along the Trail. These low hills on either side of the Trail helped keep emigrants headed in the right direction on the final climb to South Pass.
After the wagons passed between the Mounds, they fanned out . . . — — Map (db m237435) HM
On Oregon Trail, on the right when traveling west.
The James G. Willie Handcart Company was rescued on October 21, 1856 by a rescue party sent by Brigham Young. 21 members of the Willie Company perished in this valley due to a severe winter storm and lack of clothing and food. Captain Willie left in . . . — — Map (db m96622) HM