This must have been problematic for immigrants crossing the Oregon Trail.

 

Today In Wyoming's History: The grave of Alvah H. Unthank

Today In Wyoming's History: The grave of Alvah H. Unthank: 

The grave of Alvah H. Unthank

Alvah H. Unthank was a 19-year-old pioneer travelling the Oregon who died of Cholera at a spot near the Dave Johnson Power Plant outside Glendrock in July, 1850.  

One of many such tragic deaths on the trails.

 

Today In Wyoming's History: Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming

Today In Wyoming's History: Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming:

Ft. Halleck, sort of. Near Elk Mountain Wyoming

Where Ft. Halleck was, from a great distance.

This set of photographs attempts to record something from a very great distance, and with the improper lenses.   I really should have known better, quite frankly, and forgot to bring the lense that would have been ideal.  None the less, looking straight up the center of this photograph, you'll see where Ft. Halleck once was.

The post was located at the base of Elk Mountain on the Overland Trail, that "shortcut" alternative to the Oregon Trail that shaved miles, at the expense of convenience and risk.  Ft. Halleck was built in 1862 to reduce the risk.  Whomever located the post must have done so in the summer, as placing a post on this location would seem, almost by definition, to express a degree of ignorance as to what the winters here are like.

 The area to the northeast of where Ft. Halleck once was.

The fort was only occupied until 1866, although it was a major post during that time.  Ft. Sanders, outside the present city of Laramie, made the unnecessary and to add to that, Sanders was in a more livable 

Of course, by that time the Union Pacific was also progressing through the area, and that would soon render the Overland Trail obsolete.  While not on an identical path the Overland Trail and the Union Pacific approximated each others routes and, very shortly, troops would be able to travel by rail.

As that occured, it would also be the case that guarding the railroad would become a more important function for the Army, and forts soon came to be placed on it.

Elk Mountain

And, therefore, Ft. Halleck was abandoned.

Today In Wyoming's History: The Rock in the Glen, Glenrock, Wyoming.

Today In Wyoming's History: The Rock in the Glen, Glenrock, Wyoming.:

The Rock in the Glen, Glenrock, Wyoming.

The Rock in the Glen, in Converse County, Wyoming is one of the numerous places along the Oregon Trail that served as a register and a marker for those traveling on the Oregon Trail.  It shows up in the earliest guide books for the trail and like other sites in Wyoming, those who camped here often carved their names into the rock.

The location is near the North Platte River, as the trail itself is in this portion of Wyoming, and ultimately the areas features lead to the foundation of the town in the late 19th Century.  Upon formation, the town was named for the rock.

The actual location of the rock belonged to the Continental Pipeline Company up until 1982, when it donated the land to the Town of Glenrock.

The location today is a town park which is currently undergoing improvements.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church, Eden Wyoming

Churches of the West: Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church, Eden Wyoming:

Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church, Eden Wyoming

This is the Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church in small Eden Wyoming.  The Oregon Trail did in fact go right by Eden, which is quite near the Parting of the Ways.

The Cheyenne State Leader for December 23, 1916: Stock Raising Homestead Act passed

While it only merited a single paragraph, it did make the front page.  The Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916 had passed.

This was a major change in the homesteading laws in that it was the first of two homestead acts that recognized the stock raising and arid nature of the West. Rather than grant 40 acres, as the original Homestead Act had, it allowed for 640, an entire section.  It would be signed into law by President Wilson on December 29.

While we do not associate this period with homesteading it was actually the height, and close to the finish, of it.  A large number of entries were being taken out, and soon a large number would fail in the post World War One agricultural crash and drought.

Blog Mirror: Some Gave All: James Bridger's Ferry

I generally try not to post an entry on one of our (less published on) blogs entact here, save for courthouse and church photographic entries, but recently I had a couple that so related to changes in history, and indeed over the time upon which this blog theoretically focuses upon, that I've done that more than usual. Here's one such item, James Bridger's Ferry.

This was put up on our blog on monuments, but it is also now on our regular photograph blog, Holscher's Hub, and on our Railroad blog, Railhead.  I'm posting it here, as it says quite a bit about changes in transportation over the years.  Here was  have a location for a mid 19th Century ferry, that became a late 19th Century railroad bridge location, and then a state highway bridge location.

Note also, this says something, perhaps a little sad, about the nature of modern highways and how they're more efficient, but how they are also less part of things, in some ways.  This monument, put up in a location near the ferry site, is pretty much now never seen except by local traffic.  This is probably only a mile or so away from the Interstate highway, but no such monument appears there.  And the highway itself, that this monument is located on, was located between Orin Junction and Wheatland Wyoming.  Now the Interstate bypasses Orin Junction entirely and it really only zips by Wheatland. For that matter, there isn't a single town on the I 25 that, in Wyoming, you really have to stop in, while traveling the Interstate, except to get fuel if you need it.

This is one of Wyoming's many roadside monuments that's not longer really road side. This monument is on the old highway that ran from Orin Junction to Wheatland.  When the Interstate was built, Orin Junction was bypassed and for that matter, the Interstate zips through, not into, Wheatland.  Many such monuments exist, a few of which are now completely marooned. This one commemorates Jim Bridger's ferry across the North Platte River, which was placed in 1864.

A Burlington Norther Railroad Bridge, which itself isn't youthful, very near where the ferry once was.

The Big Picture: