Long before the railroad, airplane, and automobile; the desire to develop the West brought explores, mountain men, fur trappers and a few brave settlers into Wyoming. Later this would be followed by miners, farmers and ranchers, and hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m95197) HM
By 1859 there was daily mail and overland stagecoach service to California. The trip took approximately 27 days for coaches to make the journey. Although trips were originally made across the southern Santa Fe route this practice was abandoned at . . . — — Map (db m95310) HM
The Cattle Trails
The cattle drives and the trails that they followed were designed to move large numbers of Texas and Mexican cattle to Cheyenne to meet the railroad or further north into Montana for summer grazing. The trails were . . . — — Map (db m113831) HM
Interstate 25 serves as a primary north-south corridor for the western states. Skirting the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, it stretches 1,059 miles from southern New Mexico to northern Wyoming. A vital junction with east-west interstates, it . . . — — Map (db m239725) HM
This Welcome Center's entrance axis aligns with and pays tribute to the Yellowstone and National Park-to-Park highways. The Yellowstone Highway was an unpaved "auto trail" established in 1915 that was mapped, maintained, and promoted by local . . . — — Map (db m92204) HM
The region’s unique geology created ‘woodland islands’ for planes and animals, and played a key role in the routing of the Transcontinental Railroad
Pine Bluffs
The area’s distinctive Pine Bluffs are the result of early geologic activity . . . — — Map (db m76851) HM
Here in Sept. 1812, the returning Astorians led by Robert Stuart were attacked by the Indians and their horses stolen.
Dedicated July 4, 1939, to commemorate the opening of the Snake River Canyon Road.
Built by Civilian Conservation Corps. . . . — — Map (db m90550) HM
Many camping areas were used by the pioneers on their way west after making the Ham's Fork Crossing. This "Emigrant Springs" camping area became a favorite spot for the emigrants to spend the night. Abundant fire wood, livestock feed and good water . . . — — Map (db m179621) HM
In 1847, The Oregon Trail passed by this point where Highway 30 now crosses the Idaho-Wyoming Statelines. Here lies the northern most bend of Bear River in Wyoming before it crosses into Idaho. Skirting wet lands to the north and the south, ruts . . . — — Map (db m90483) HM
He little knew that when he cut his name, or had it cut, in this stone, that it would be engraved in the annals of the West deeper than that of any other man. As one of the world's outstanding explorers he guided emigrants, railroads and army in the . . . — — Map (db m36660) HM
Names Hill is one of three prominent sites in Wyoming where travelers inscribed their names into stone along the emigrant trails. The other sites are Register Cliff and Independence Rock. After crossing a 40 miles stretch of waterless desert, wagon . . . — — Map (db m162509) HM
The Lander Cut-off left the Oregon Trail at Burnt Ranch on the Sweetwater River near South Pass City, WY. Frederick Lander surveyed the trail in 1857. Tens of thousands of people passed over the trail during its use. With the Transcontinental . . . — — Map (db m90520) HM
Beginning in 1843, emigrants traveled across the continent along what became known as the Oregon Trail. Increased traffic during the 1850's resulted in the first government road construction project in the west. The 345 mile Central Division of the . . . — — Map (db m90521) HM
The Legend of Devil’s Gate
American Indian legend says a powerful evil spirit in the form of a tremendous beast with enormous tusks ravaged the Sweetwater Valley, preventing the Indians from hunting and camping. A holy man told the . . . — — Map (db m95488) HM
From here to Split Rock, a day's journey west, the Oregon Trail followed two routes; one close to the Sweetwater River, and the other a little further from it but more direct.
Capt. Howard Stansbury commented August 1, 1852:
"...Frost . . . — — Map (db m95515) HM
The grave of F.R. Fulkerson was noted by forty-niner J.G. Bruff on July 26, 1849, as he traveled through what he termed "Pass of the Rattle-Snake Mountain to the left of Devil's Gate." The survival of the large granite boulder used as the Fulkerson . . . — — Map (db m66997) HM
Thousands who traveled the Oregon Trail in central Wyoming were unaware that they were the beneficiaries of a long series of geological events. The granite peaks around you are mountains that rose, sank and then were buried in sand and ashy . . . — — Map (db m62149) HM
Probably discovered by returning Astorians, 1812. Given its name by emigrants who celebrated Independence Day here July 4, 1825. Capt. Bonneville passed here with first wagons 1832. Whitman and Spalding, missionaries with their wives stopped here . . . — — Map (db m95548) HM
The Oregon Trail passed over the ridge to the east of Devil's Gate. Good grass, water and the shelter of the hills made this a popular campsite.
Explorer Brevet-Captain John C. Fremont, 1842:
"In about three miles, we reached the . . . — — Map (db m95504) HM
In 1852 an estimated 50,000 pioneers passed Independence Rock on their way west. Among this number was the family of 21-year-old Ezra Meeker, recently of Eddyville, Iowa, but natives of Indiana. Meeker, his wife Eliza, and their infant son, arrived . . . — — Map (db m95546) HM
Here the present-day highway crosses what remains of an all but forgotten road. That road led to the remote goldfields of western Montana, booming since 1862. The government, in 1859, ordered Captain W.F. Raynolds, Topographical . . . — — Map (db m86918) HM
Daunting to some, invigorating to others, the view from here gave emigrants a sense of the dramatic beauty and grand scale of the West. Many pioneers, tired after having climbed four hundred feet above Willow Springs, were humbled by this panorama. . . . — — Map (db m95598) HM
The eighteenth century brought competition among Spain, France, England and the fledgling Unites States for control of North America. Domain over the continent's rivers, seaports, forests, rich soils, and wildlife resources was key to the growth of . . . — — Map (db m95596) HM
Many travelers along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Pioneer trails relied on maps and reports made by explorers or guides who knew the way. William Clayton provided early emigrants with a detailed written record of his travels. As a member of . . . — — Map (db m91950) HM
Many travelers along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Pioneer trail relied on maps and reports made by explorers or guides who knew the way. William Clayton provided early emigrants with a detailed written record of his travels. As a member of . . . — — Map (db m95600) HM
of Oregon Trail fame, where
westward travelers left the
North Platte River.
A Tribute to Pioneer Emigrants
from
Casper Literary Club
1930 — — Map (db m91946) HM
In this location wagons, carts, livestock, and emigrants forded the North Platte River during organized migrations through the Rocky Mountain West. Congressional prodding to occupy the Oregon Territory in the early 1840s, and the lure of fertile, . . . — — Map (db m91971) HM
The eighteenth century saw competition for control of North America among Spain, France, England, and the fledgling United States. Following a forty-year period of wars, treaties, territorial purchases, and establishment of trading posts, the future . . . — — Map (db m91947) HM
Oregon Trail approximately four miles north, on bend of North Platte visible to the north. Robert Stuart in 1812 erected the first white man's cabin in Wyoming. — — Map (db m164363) HM
After the last crossing of the North Platte River in the present Casper area, twenty to twenty-five miles east of here, wagons followed the Oregon-California Trail entered a dry, dreary alkali area where fresh water was scarce. Willow Springs was . . . — — Map (db m95592) HM
The discovery of gold in Montana in 1862 created a rush of miners traveling to Virginia city. The most direct routes were through Wyoming on the Bridger and Bozeman trails. In the spring of 1863, John Bozeman, a miner from Georgia, pioneered a route . . . — — Map (db m164521) HM
On Saturday, July 20, 1889, Ellen L. Watson, popularly known as “Cattle Kate”, was hanged with James Averell in Spring Canyon. The site is located 50 miles southwest of Casper near Independence Rock.
Ella and Jim had adjoining . . . — — Map (db m164525) HM
This larger-than-life sculpture, “The Pony Express”, was conceived and created by the heart and hands of Avard Tennyson Fairbanks (1897 – 1987). Born into an artistic family in Provo, Utah, Avard Fairbanks showed childhood talent . . . — — Map (db m86900) HM
Originally located 3 blocks south of here, this monument was moved to this location in 1952. In an effort to rectify inaccurate information presented on the monument, the following corrections are provided. Oregon TrailThe 1849 date presented . . . — — Map (db m88148) HM
From 1840 to 1869, over 350,000 emigrants traveled past this area on the Oregon/California /Mormon Trails. The promise of free land, sudden riches, or religious freedom caused these pioneers to endure great hardships. Thousands of persons died in . . . — — Map (db m164516) HM
Two plaques and a medallion are located at this site:
Oregon- California Trail
During the years 1841-1867 over 350,000 persons passed through Casper on their way West. The majority of them traveled through what is now the lobby . . . — — Map (db m92022) HM
Pioneer Monument Erected on this site of the Old Oregon Trail in memory of the pioneers who blazed the way. Built by Natrona County Pioneer Association 1849 1911
Fort Casper ---------- U. S. Military Post Established about 1864 by . . . — — Map (db m86897) HM
“….A Company have gone back about three miles to make two canoes on which they intend to build a boat to be used here till the next company comes up. Another company also went about half a mile up the river to make slabs or puncheons to lay on . . . — — Map (db m91693) HM
Brigham Young led the first group of Mormons west from winter quarters in Nebraska in 1847, finally settling in the Salt Lake Valley. When these pioneers crossed the river here, they left nine men to operate a ferry. This ferry served fellow Mormons . . . — — Map (db m164517) HM
From the late 1840s through the 1860s, an exodus of more than 70,000 Mormons passed by here on their way to their “New Zion” in Utah. Starting from Nauvoo, Illinois in February 1846, the first group of at least 13,000 Mormons crossed . . . — — Map (db m91708) HM
Canyons and the southward curve of the North Platte west of here forced emigrant wagon trains to cross to the north side of the river somewhere between present Glenrock and Casper. This region was known generally as the Upper Platte Crossing. Until . . . — — Map (db m92052) HM
Many emigrant pioneers passed through this gap, or opening, in Emigrant Ridge between the 1840’s and the 1880’s as they traveled the Oregon-Mormon Trail by oxen-drawn wagons, on horseback, or on foot. The trail generally followed the North Platte . . . — — Map (db m92013) HM
In 1874, the U.S. Army discovered gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The resulting gold rush required a stage line that could carry gold from the remote mining town of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, to Cheyenne, a commercial center on the Union . . . — — Map (db m98260) HM
The Dreaded Crossing.
Along the Cheyenne-Deadwood stage route, stories still are told of outlaws and buried gold. Bandits haunted the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage line during the gold boom that began in Deadwood in 1876. By the end of 1877, gold . . . — — Map (db m98257) HM
Here you stand on the Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail over which freight wagons and stagecoaches traveled between Cheyenne and the Black Hills gold mining area from 1876 to 1877. One of these stages may be seen in the Lusk museum. The nearby monument is at . . . — — Map (db m98291) HM
The Cheyenne River drainage system has been the locus of human activity for thousands of years. Native Americans used the corridor in search of wild game and wild plants resources. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1875, miners, . . . — — Map (db m98259) HM
In Memory of
George Lathrop
Pioneer of the West, Indian fighter, veteran stage driver.
Born at Pottsville, Pa. Dec. 24, 1830
Died at Willow, Wyo. Dec. 24, 1915 Buried here
"A good man whose life was filled with striving . . . — — Map (db m98299) HM
1876 - 1887
In memory of the pioneers who operated the stage line and those who traveled the old Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail
Erected on the site of Old Fort Hat Creek by... — — Map (db m170565) HM
Although paved highways have existed in the U.S. since the 1920s, rest areas are a more recent feature of highway travel. In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson promoted a nationwide effort to beautify highways . . . — — Map (db m98300) HM
Here lies Mother Featherlegs Shepard. So called, as in her ruffled pantalettes she looked like a feather-legged chicken in a high wind. She was a road house ma'am. An outlaw confederate, she was murdered by "Dangerous Dick Davis The Terrapin" in . . . — — Map (db m98303) HM
Front from oldest building in Lusk owned by Ellis Johnson. Originally at townsite of Silvercliff 1886. Log part of this building is from Rawhide Butte Stage Station. — — Map (db m98310) HM
Along this trail passed herds of cattle from distant Texas to replace in Wyoming and Montana the fast vanishing buffalo and build civilization on the northwestern plains — — Map (db m98285) HM
"The tired horses came to an abrupt stop at the Dilworth post office. The needed no whoa-ing. The wagon loaded with mail and freight had jostled in and out of ruts, up and down hills, across streams and along washed out roads." (Fernell E. Henry, . . . — — Map (db m167159) HM
This pass is the summit of Dead Indian Hill. Through this portal great herds of wild game seasonally migrant from the mountains to the plains. This high pass was the gate way for countless Indian hunting and war parties, and through this portal . . . — — Map (db m189985) HM
In the early 1890s, Thomas Lanchbury was hired by the Bell stage and freight line to build a stage station near Eagle's Nest Springs in Wyoming. The Eagle's Nest Stage Station was the midway point on the run between Red Lodge, Montana and Meeteese, . . . — — Map (db m91134) HM
Young Buffalo Bill Cody started his famous career with the great freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell as a messenger boy. He became a spectacular Pony Express rider with the same firm and road between Red Buttes and Three Crossings, along . . . — — Map (db m91008) HM
In 1878 civilian Superintendent Philetus Norris began cutting crude wagon paths to Yellowstone's major features. However, better roads were needed, and from 1883 to 1918 the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers built and maintained Yellowstone's roads and . . . — — Map (db m123153) HM
At this spot in 1904, brothers Charles and George Wilson, builders of the Cody-Meeteetse Road, constructed a rock dugout near Dry Creek Spring. The primitive accommodation stood halfway between Corbett Crossing on the Shoshone River to the . . . — — Map (db m87149) HM
A Special Place Yellowstone’s northern range is home to a large variety of plants and animals. It is unique – different from other areas in the park. What makes it different? • Elevations are 5,200 – 7,000 feet – lower than . . . — — Map (db m88954) HM
In 1883, when Lieutenant Dan C. Kingman and the Army Corps of Engineers arrived, the road situation was dismal. When the Corps left 35 year later, there were 400 miles of stable, secure roads which had been designed with the intent of allowing . . . — — Map (db m87117) HM
Shortly after 1900, “Uncle” Tom Richardson took visitors down into the Canyon along this trail. Originally with 528 steps and rope ladders; it now descends 328 steps or about ¾ of the way down in to the Canyon for an excellent view of . . . — — Map (db m88901) HM
Cheyenne, Ft. Laramie, Deadwood Trail, 1867-1887, started from Camp Carlin and Ft. D.A. Russell on the west edge of Cheyenne.
This road first ran to Ft. Laramie and in 1876 was extended to Deadwood, Dakota Territory, and the Black Hills gold . . . — — Map (db m92134) HM
530 yards south east of
this monument on the
Oregon Trail was the site of
Horseshoe Creek Pony Express
and U.S. Military telegraph
and stage station built in 1860. — — Map (db m92130) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m92129) HM
Vertical on the stake
XP / Centre Star / Station Site/ Pony Express / Trail 1860 - 1861
Small plaque mounted on the stake
Dedicated 2004
AKA Ward’s Station
Nine Mile House - Sand Point - Adolph’s
Sponsored by: Jim . . . — — Map (db m79803) HM
By wagon, encampments in the Guernsey area, are a day's trek from Fort Laramie. Emigrants had three choices of camp sites in the Guernsey area: Register Cliff, Warm Springs or Cold Springs, the farthest encampment.
Lieutenant John C. Fremont's . . . — — Map (db m85773) HM
Called Bitter Cottonwood Creek because of the groves of cottonwood trees growing there, this location was a welcome relief for emigrant pioneers as they traveled along the relatively treeless road to the west in the 1840s, 50s, & 60s. Many pioneer . . . — — Map (db m147855) HM
Two plaque, under the same name, described military forts and stations on the Wyoming's Platte River section of the Oregon Trail.
Panel 1:
There were four forts, numerous stations, and camps along the Oregon-California-Mormon . . . — — Map (db m85769) HM
The sight centers on the headquarters buildings of the Guernsey-Frederick Ranch. That these building stand almost in the shadow of Register Cliff is symbolic of the valley’s heritage. Here, history emphasizes the Oregon Trail; such other epochs as . . . — — Map (db m86944) HM
The historic Oregon Trail descends from the benchlands across the valley to the river bottom below. Brigham Young’s 1847 Company of Mormon Pioneers crossed the south side of the North Platte River near Fort Laramie to follow the Oregon Trail past . . . — — Map (db m164746) HM
Spotted through the right-hand sight is Mexican Hill. At Mexican Hill the covered wagon emigrants, having turned into the fort on the Laramie River for information, supplies or repairs, cut over the intervening ridge to regain the Platte River . . . — — Map (db m86931) HM
North Platte River: Gateway Corridor
Currents of History Travel Alongside the North Platte River
Routes along the river originally used by Native Americans were later adopted by fur traders. Beginning as a trickle, . . . — — Map (db m164747) HM
Dedicated to the pioneers of Wyoming Register Cliff acquired by the State of Wyoming through gift of the Henry Frederick family 1932 — — Map (db m86926) HM
Wagon wheels cut solid rock, carving a memorial to Empire Builders. what manner of men and beasts impelled conveyances weighting on those griding wheels? Look! A line of shadows crossing boundless wilderness.
Foremost, nimble mules drawing . . . — — Map (db m5748) HM
has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark Under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935 this site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States. U.S. Department . . . — — Map (db m86924) HM
Three panels are found at the Park Kiosk near the parking lot.
The Trail West
During the mid-1800s, more than 500,000 pioneers journeyed west. Never more than a rocky, rutted trail, the road west began in Missouri, crossing . . . — — Map (db m85924) HM
The wayfarer's penchant for inscribing names and dates on prominent landmarks excites the interest of his descendants. Regrettably, marks of historic value are often effaced by later opportunists.
Along the Oregon Trail, famed transcontinental . . . — — Map (db m5749) HM
Three panels are located at the Register Cliff State Historic Site kiosk.
Register Cliff State Historic Site
West of Register Cliff the landscape changes, presenting new challenges for the emigrants. Limited water and rugged . . . — — Map (db m79836) HM
Rock quarries, visible from several points near this location, were used beginning in 1849 to supply stone and lime for construction projects at Fort Laramie, about 15 miles east. Workers in the quarries were protected by soldiers stationed in . . . — — Map (db m85753) HM
Cold Spring camping ground. Rifle pits on brow of hill 500 feet north. Erected by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming 1943 — — Map (db m86711) HM
The U.S. Army's Role in Protecting the Oregon Trail in Wyoming 1842 to 1870
Lieutenant John C. Fremont led an expedition west in 1842 to map a route to Oregon Territory. The scout, Kit Carson, guided the expedition. Lieutenant . . . — — Map (db m85771) HM
Three plaques, under the same title, describe how the U.S. Army protected immigrants on the Oregon Trail.
Panel 1:
“If it is in contemplation to keep open communications with Oregon Territory, a show of military force in this . . . — — Map (db m85766) HM
As you journey through Wyoming, you are one of the countless travelers who has looked out to the west and seen the granite rising of Laramie Peak. Near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, approximately 80 miles east of Dwyer Junction, emigrants witnessed their . . . — — Map (db m98380) HM
The Land
The land under view where the Great Plains meets the Rocky Mountains was once the Red Man's land of milk and honey, then as now teaming with wildlife. It was a most productive--thus favorite--hunting ground. But it was also a . . . — — Map (db m153150) HM
As shown above, so ran, through treaty guaranteed Indian Land, a white man’s route of commerce. Like any road it was an environment and ecology disturbing intrusion. Which, in this case, made it a challenge bound to produce a redman’s reaction . . . — — Map (db m87704) HM
The Bozeman Trail was established in 1863 by John Bozeman and John Jacobs as a shortcut to the Montana goldfields. It started from Virginia City, at Adler Gulch, in Montana, heading southward across Wyoming and the Powder River country where it . . . — — Map (db m87519) HM
