Graves were an all-to-frequent reminder of the dangers of overland travel. Most emigrant journals record death, burial, or passing graves during the day's travel. Most burials along the trail were hasty affairs.
The official Company Journal of . . . — — Map (db m67045) HM
Death on the trail did not allow for the fineries of the funerals back home. Emigrants made do with materials available. Black would adorn the clothes of mourners, and care would be taken to provide the best funeral possible. The most travelers . . . — — Map (db m67044) HM
Brigham Young sent the Utah Militia, also known as the Nauvoo Legion, to harass the Federal troops and delay their approach. In the early hours of October 4th, Major Lot Smith of the Utah Militia and 40 men captured and burned two supply trains, . . . — — Map (db m67040) HM
Just a few miles from where you're standing, the emigrants would come to the first of several trail "splits" that would take them to a crossing on the Green River where they would camp for the evening.
Even with South Pass behind them, Oregon . . . — — Map (db m67043) HM
Crossing rivers was the most dangerous activity emigrants faced on their journey west. By the time weary pioneers enroute (sic) to Oregon, California, or Utah reached the east bank of the Green River, they had been on the trail for several months. . . . — — Map (db m90015) HM
Death was a constant companion for emigrants headed west. It is estimated that 10,000 to 30,000 people died and were buried along the trails between 1843 and 1869.
Cholera and other diseases were the most common cause of death. People didn't . . . — — Map (db m67046) HM
Relations between emigrants using the trails and the Indians were inconsistent during the migration period. While hostile acts and violent confrontation did occur, they have been overemphasized in trail history. During the early migration period of . . . — — Map (db m67049) HM
If you look down the river about 250 yards on the right side - there's a wooden ferry. The ferry you see was built by Forrest Cramer of Pinedale, Wyoming in 1997 of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. . . . — — Map (db m88481) HM
In 1859, the California legislature offered $6,000 a year for the first overland telegraph. This was followed by an act of the United States Congress on June 16, 1860, pledging $40,000 a year for ten years for carrying government messages. With . . . — — Map (db m67048) HM
This spot where the old Oregon and Mormon Trails cross the Little Sandy River (or Creek) was a popular camping and resting place for travelers headed to Oregon, California and Utah. Indeed, this site is one of the most significant landmarks on the . . . — — Map (db m96697) HM
On Monday evening, June 28, 1847, Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers met James Bridger and party near this place. Both companies encamped here over night and conferred at length regarding the route and the possibility of establishing and . . . — — Map (db m47138) HM
For the hundreds of people heading west, life was one day at a time. The travelers had settled into the monotonous routine of life on the trail - up before dawn, an early breakfast, hitch up the stock, and begin the day's journey.
Upon safely . . . — — Map (db m90035) HM
The emigration of Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-dat Saints) converts to Utah is a fascinating chapter of the overall American westering experience of the 19th century. In search of religious freedom and an end to persecution, Mormon . . . — — Map (db m88477) HM
On the horizon about 25 miles to the south is Pilot Butte. An important landmark, Pilot Butte served as a guide post separating South Pass trails from the more southerly Overland Trail that crossed southern Wyoming. Oddly enough, Pilot Butte was . . . — — Map (db m67047) HM
Welcome to the Pilot Butte Emigrant Trails Interpretive Site. The purpose of the site is to help you gain a sense of what life was like for the 400,000 emigrants who left their homes to seek a new life in the West. They were seeking wealth, . . . — — Map (db m67042) HM
Just as the Green River was important to emigrant as a source of life-giving water and wildlife, it is important to us today a century and half later for the same reasons.
Siskadee Agie is a Crow Indian term meaning "River of the Prairie Hen." . . . — — Map (db m90036) HM
One of only three significant engagements of the Utah War, the incident at Simpson's Hollow played a key role in the conflict. The Utah War (1857-1858) was the result of a lack of communication between the U.S. Government and the Utah Territory . . . — — Map (db m67038) HM
Here on Oct. 6, 1857, U.S. Army supply wagons led by a Capt. Simpson were burned by Major Lot Smith and 43 Utah Militia men. They were under orders from Brigham Young, Utah Territorial Governor, to delay the army's advance on Utah. This delay of the . . . — — Map (db m67039) HM
Long before the Oregon/California westward migration, animals instinctively stopped at the Big Sandy River during their migration process. With South Pass just 35 miles east, the river was also a natural East-West pathway for man. The pathway, in . . . — — Map (db m47136) HM
This site of the Lombard Ferry was one of the most used crossings on the Green River, lasting from about 1843 into the early 1900s. First established by mountain men, it was operated by Mormons in the 1850s during the peak years of the westward . . . — — Map (db m88473) HM
A Legacy of Distrust
In 1857, the Buchanan Administration faced a series of national challenges. Civil war loomed on the horizon, the New York stock market was in trouble, Federal troops were sent to quash unrest in Kansas and Washington . . . — — Map (db m67041) HM
Marking the common boundary of the Louisiana Purchase (1803) The Northwest Territory (1846) and Mexico (1848).
The Site is located where the Continental Divide crosses the 42nd parallel North Latitude. — — Map (db m96678) HM
This site, where the Continental Divide crosses the 42 degree parallel, North Latitude, was first claimed by Spain through the presumptive right of early discoveries and explorations. The area was also a part of Acadia, granted in 1603 by Henry IV . . . — — Map (db m96679) HM
The bed of prehistoric Lake Gosiute (Go-shute) lies hundred of feet below you. This ancient lake set the stage of the world's largest trona and oil shale deposits as well as a significant natural gas reserve.
Lake Gosiute Creates Trona . . . — — Map (db m90093) HM
The towers you see here are the remains of a complex system of sand filled channels of ancient Lake Gosiute. The sandstone promontories of the Laney Member of the Green River Formation were deposited during the middle Eocene Epoch from about 40 to . . . — — Map (db m90094) HM
In September 1868 the Union Pacific Railroad established the town of Bryan, named for Lt. Francis Theodore Bryan, a surveyor. The town was located eleven miles west of Green River and north of this location. Passing beyond the settlement at Green . . . — — Map (db m67759) HM
Haldane "Buzz" Holstrom wanted to float the Green and Colorado Rivers to Hoover Dam. In the fall of 1937, he found the "right cedar tree" near his home in Oregon and built his own 16-foot Galloway-style riverboat.
A friend who was supposed to . . . — — Map (db m90164) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m90038) HM
In the "old days", crossings on the Green River were made using fords (shallow portions of water), ferries and, finally, bridges. A dangerous body water, the Green River was fordable seasonally and only in certain areas. Beginning in 1862, wagons . . . — — Map (db m90040) HM
Trapper, hunter, prospector, and tattoo artist - George Flavell and his passenger/partner Ramon Montez were the first men to float the "distance" of Green River, Wyoming to Needles, California primarily for the "adventure."
The two arrived in . . . — — Map (db m90188) HM
This building was located at 52 North Second East Street from 1942 through 1954, located just north of the alley and one-half block north of the Union Pacific Railroad depot. It was used for office space by the TOWN OF GREEN RIVER.
This . . . — — Map (db m90249) HM
Welcome to Green River, Wyoming - a town named for the river below you. This high-desert community was established in 1868 as the Union Pacific Railroad expanded across Wyoming. Throughout history Native Americans, explorers and trappers have . . . — — Map (db m90037) HM
From Green River, Wyoming on May 24, 1869 Major John Wesley Powell and a group of voyagers set out to discover the mysteries of one of the last unexplored regions in the continental United States--the Green and Colorado Rivers. Powell was a disabled . . . — — Map (db m13099) HM
Even before the end of the 1869 voyage, Powell knew he had to return to the river. The news of Powell's first expedition of 1869 captured the nation's imagination and admiration; and also helped persuade Congress to appropriate $10,000 for the . . . — — Map (db m90190) HM
An Ohio millionaire and no stranger to the river, Julius Stone wanted to duplicate Major Powell's run down the Green and Colorado Rivers. Stone even went to Washington to meet with the aging Powell. Major Powell, however, was jealous of his . . . — — Map (db m90167) HM
Ellsworth and Emery Kolb were photographers with a studio on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. They wanted to make a complete photographic record of the canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers, and thus decided to run the rivers themselves. . . . — — Map (db m90166) HM
A sometime trapper and prospector from Vernal, Utah, Nathaniel "Than" Galloway revolutionized river travel on the Green and all other western rivers. Galloway was convinced that both beaver and gold could be found in the canyons of the Green River. . . . — — Map (db m90189) HM
Norman D. Nevills took his first major voyage in 1938, floating from Green River, Utah, through the Grand Canyon. This journey included the first woman ever to float Cataract and Grand Canyons.
In 1940, Nevills decided to float from Green River, . . . — — Map (db m90161) HM
To All Pioneers
Who Passed
This Way
To Win And Hold
The West
Trail Crossed
30 Miles North
This Point
Erected By
People Of
Green River 1931 — — Map (db m67775) HM
On May 24, 1869, the Powell - Colorado River Expedition, ten men and four boats strong, embarked from these environs on a voyage of adventure resulting in civilization's first definite knowledge of this continent's last unexplored major river . . . — — Map (db m90258) HM
The Green River swimming pool was constructed at this location in the early 1930s and opened to the public in July 1931. The front foundation is still visible. After the structure had been demolished and the pool filled in, the area was flooded in . . . — — Map (db m90250) HM
Where sodium carbonate brine was discovered in 1896, which was the fore-runner of the present sodium chemical industry in this area. — — Map (db m90059) HM
J.F. Moerke, Frank Briggs, M.C. Peterson and C.W. Johnson, the owners of the amusement park on Island Park, purchased the "Sunbeam" and a companion craft, the "Teddy R", in 1908. These were stern-wheeler, gasoline-propelled motor launches which were . . . — — Map (db m90187) HM
For the first 100 years of its history, Green River's population fluctuated between 2,000 and 4,000 people. Townspeople lived north of the Green River, staggered on both the north and south sides of the railroad tracks. In the 1970s, an increase in . . . — — Map (db m90068) HM
The search for "practical" uses of the canyons of the upper Green River had been on since the turn of the century. In 1914, a U.S. Geologic Survey expedition led by Eugene LaRue floated to the Utah border and noted several damsites in the Flaming . . . — — Map (db m90165) HM
In September 1938 on the eve of World War II, three young people from France came to southwest Wyoming for a trip down the Green River.
Bernard and Genevieve LeColmont were married in Paris on August 1, 1938, and the trip to America to run the . . . — — Map (db m90163) HM
Teacher, Civil War veteran, scientist, and naturalist - John Wesley Powell was driven by the idea to explore the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
He arranged funds, men, and equipment in the winter of 1868-1869. The expedition was . . . — — Map (db m90191) HM
The Overland Stage
Station Route
Operated
1861 — 1868
Green River Division
Station Site
350 Yards East
Erected By
The Historical Landmark
Commission of Wyoming
1952 — — Map (db m67777) HM
The paddlewheeler or steamship the Comet represented a new form of transportation on the upper Green River - the use of power other than oars.
The flagship of the newly organized Green River Navigation Company, the Comet made . . . — — Map (db m90186) HM
Just prior to World War II, the Union Pacific Railroad verified the existence of trona and the immense size of the trona patch through core drilling across its vast land holdings. Prior to development of the trona industry in the 1940s and 1950s, . . . — — Map (db m90058) HM
Leaving Missouri in 1824, William Ashley led a large group of men west in search of riches - beaver. Ashley and his crew arrived on the banks of the Green River (or Seeds-ke-dee as it was called then) on April 9th, 1825 near the mouth of the Big . . . — — Map (db m90248) HM
Like thousands of people in 1849, William Manly was in a hurry to reach the California gold fields and find his fortune. He offered his services as a mule driver, joining a group of emigrants and headed west on the overland trail.
Manly and . . . — — Map (db m90247) HM
Center panel:
From this point you can see Linwood Bay of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Beneath the surface of the reservoir at the far western end, lies the site of the town of Linwood. When Flaming Gorge Dam was built in the early . . . — — Map (db m90096) HM
"When all had come in, he (Ashley) opened his goods, and there was a general jubilee.... We constituted quite a little town, numbering at least eight hundred souls, ...half were women and children. There were some ... who had not seen any groceries, . . . — — Map (db m90098) HM
In 1863, a short distance from here, seven passengers on the Overland Stage were murdered during a robbery. The victims were buried on this hill. James Thompson, a station guard, placed the blame for the crime on the infamous outlaw, Jack Slade. . . . — — Map (db m73960) HM
Oh! "Mama Sage." It seems endless, the sage; the rolling sage-covered Wyoming hills. Sagebrush, the shrub that means survival to the world's largest populations of pronghorn antelope and sage grouse. Blown free of snow by the Wyoming winds, . . . — — Map (db m67966) HM
At the beginning of the Civil War military strength in the West declined and often it was impossible to safeguard stages carrying the United States mail along the Oregon-California-Mormon Trail. Early in 1862 "Stagecoach King" Ben Holladay . . . — — Map (db m67925) HM
After the Civil War, the Union Pacific laid track westward, bringing commerce to the wilderness. Establishment of the transcontinental railroad and the communities which sprung up around the railroads helped settle the Territory of Wyoming. . . . — — Map (db m73958) HM
Before the Transcontinental Railroad connected the East and West coasts of the United States, stage coach lines transported both passengers and mail across the country. Stations along the route functioned as pit stops, where horses - tired and . . . — — Map (db m76743) HM
It was in 1910 that coal mine operations began at Reliance. These mines were operated by the coal mining company of the Union Pacific Railroad. Here, where the tipple now stands, the first coal loading facility was constructed in 1912. The stone . . . — — Map (db m89721) HM
The tipples constructed here were designed to serve all the Reliance coal mines. Union Pacific Coal Company opened their mines in phases. The coal mines were all located east of here with portals located along the sides of the valley. Coal from . . . — — Map (db m89752) HM
From 1910 to 1955, the mines at Reliance produced coal for the Union Pacific Railroad. To staff these mines, people from a variety of countries were hired. During World War II there were not enough mine workers to extract the coal. People were . . . — — Map (db m89753) HM
On February 3, 1961 around 5:15 p.m., a bus loaded with FMC Corporation employees were returning home to Rock Springs. Approximately 5 miles west of Rock Springs a car passed the bus and lost control on the slippery highway. It crashed head on into . . . — — Map (db m156595) HM
Beneath This Monument
Coal Was First Mined
In This District
Site Of
Union Pacific No. 1 Mine
A.D. 1868
Erected September 17, 1938 — — Map (db m67813) HM
Named in honor of Edward Deen Eskridge 16, who was lost on Feb. 15, 1963 after a car accident that fatally injured his brother Richard, 15. His last tracks were found about 3 miles down this draw.
This tragedy inspired the founding of the . . . — — Map (db m90798) HM
About three million years ago, a volcano dominated the landscape east of U.S. 191. The powerful forces of wind and water eroded softer rocks surrounding the volcano's more resistant core, resulting in the tooth-shaped butte on the eastern horizon. . . . — — Map (db m47139) HM
The basic oil derrick has an upright stationary section which is capable of supporting hundreds of tons of weight, combined with a movable boom which is used to raise and lower equipment. Derricks of various designs have been in use for centuries to . . . — — Map (db m156597) HM
Buried under the streets of Rock Springs are seams of coal. In 1850 Howard Stansbury noted that coal could be found near the present town. When, in 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad built through the area, the large commercial mines opened. Number 1 . . . — — Map (db m67812) HM
On June 6, 1929, the Rock Springs Coal "Welcome" sign was lit. The Union Pacific Coal Company Employes' Magazine reported it spanned the Lincoln Highway and was approximately 100 feet from the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad. It was . . . — — Map (db m67811) HM
The people who moved into Superior were from diverse ethnic backgrounds. They came from Austria, Slovenia, England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Japan and Greece. Other nationalities loved (sic) and worked in various Superior communities . . . — — Map (db m92210) HM
Prospecting revealed that Seams Nos. 3, 1, 7, and 13, the latter also known as the Van Dyke Seam, were of sufficient thickness to justify the development of mines. Preliminary railroad surveys were made up the long canyon from Thayer Junction on the . . . — — Map (db m92213) HM
In 1900, while prospecting was being carried on in the vicinity of Cumberland, Morgan Griffiths, Gus Paulsen and a party of prospectors went northeast from Rock Springs to prospect in Horse Thief Canyon, since outcrops of a promising deposit of coal . . . — — Map (db m92216) HM
This monument is dedicated to the miners who worked here and especially to those who lost their lives. It is also a monument to the living -- those who ave remained and exemplify the men and women whose independent character created this community. . . . — — Map (db m92235) HM
This map shows the location of the Union Pacific coal mines and coal camps built in the years between 1906 and 1910. The town of South Superior is purposefully left off this map. It was not owned by Union Pacific Coal Company and in this time . . . — — Map (db m92212) HM
Unions were established in the Wyoming coal fields for several reasons. In part, they developed due to the dangers found underground in coal mines, the lack of fair wages and the fact that coal companies often controlled a man's life from cradle to . . . — — Map (db m92217) HM
Men and machines became the rule within the Superior Coal Field. While mules and horses were used in the early years, by the late 1930's, most of the mines had mechanized loaders, conveyors, and cutters. The cutters under-cut the coal, the loaders . . . — — Map (db m92211) HM
This was the original location of the Henry B. Joy Lincoln Highway Monument placed in 1938 following Joy's death. Henry Bourne Joy was president of the Packard Motor Car Company and the first president of the Lincoln Highway Association. The Lincoln . . . — — Map (db m67960) HM
The Continental Divide, "The Backbone of the Nation," follows the crest of the Wind River Range and then splits near South Pass. At this point, the Continental Divide loops, creating the Great Divide Basin, before it comes back together near . . . — — Map (db m67964) HM
