The “new” Reliance Tipple was built in 1936 to replace an earlier wooden tipple originally constructed in 1910.
The Hallville and nearby Black Butte Mines were both opened in 1869, the year after the Union Pacific was completed in the area. At its peak, 100 coal cars per week were loaded and brought out of the Hallville Mine.
The Point of Rocks Stage Station, also known as Almond Station, was built in 1862 for Ben Holladay’s Overland Stage after Holladay moved his stage route from the popular Oregon Trail-South Pass route to the southern Overland Route.
While many Wyoming towns only have one train depot, Rock Springs has two historic depots, reflecting the importance of the railroad for the community and the surrounding area.
Old Bedlam was built in 1849, making it the oldest standing military building in Wyoming. Fort Laramie was established when the military came to the state to protect emigrants traveling on the Mormon, Oregon, and the Overland trail.
The Wyoming National Bank in downtown Casper celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1964 with a modern building complex unlike any in Wyoming. The bank was designed by Denver architect Charles Deaton, who also designed the so-called “Jetson House” west of Denver, which was featured in Woody Allen’s 1973 movie Sleeper.
Castle Gardens gets its name from the outcropping of sandstone that the wind has eroded into fanciful shapes resembling the turrets and towers of castles. This unusual formation has been luring visitors for thousands of years, and many of them left their mark in the soft sandstone.
The first owner of the building was Charles Henry King, one of the earliest settlers to arrive in the area. He arrived in Shoshoni from Omaha in 1905. Upon arrival King bought three lots that would become in the following year the first lumber company in town. During this period, the lumber company’s main business came from homesteaders who had headed out west to claim the land that was promised by the Homestead Act.
“Wyoming’s sense of preservation is unmatched. Without this Trail, we would find life today far different. I cannot convey how strongly I feel when I see the Trail in Wyoming. And not just that Trail, but the assorted stage routes and the Overland Trail, an Indian trail across Weston County, the Lander Road, etc.” – Cori Clements, Wyoming resident who hiked the Oregon Trail all the way across the state over 10 years. Read her inspiring story here!
The AMK Ranch represents two important phases of settlement in the Jackson Hole valley: homesteading and vacation homes. The property demonstrates a cultural shift from using the land for basic daily needs and economic sufficiency to a more dominant appreciation of land as scenery and a place for recreation.