Robbers' Roost Station
Cheyenne & Black Hills Stage Route

About three miles north of Mule Creek Junction on U.S. Highway 85.

Along the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Route, stories still are told of outlaws and buried gold. But the swaying Concord stagecoaches stopped rolling in 1887, eleven years after beginning service to the gold regions of the Black Hills in 1876.

Located at the Cheyenne River crossing, Robbers’ Roost was a station of the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage and Express Company. Built in 1877 on a new shortcut, it derived its name from the many robberies in the area. The crossing was the spot most dreaded by stage driveres; steep river banks slowed the coaches to a crawl and provided concealment from which lurking road agents could watch the approach of their intended victims.

Station agent at Robber’s Roost was D. Boone May, also a deputy U. S. marshall and a shotgun messenger for the gold-laden treasure coaches from the “Hills”. In September, 1878, south of here, May and John Zimmerman surprised desperadoes in the act of robbing the southbound coach. the outlaws opened fire and one of them, Frank Towle, wa fatally wounded. Outnumbered, May and Zimmerman escorted the coach to safety and the outlaws made their escape. Towle was buried by his companions. May later found the grave, removed Towle’s head and took it to Cheyenne in a sack to try to claim a reward.

The era of the gold rush to the Black Hills was a flamboyant one, bringing together a diverse gathering of frontier characters Indians, soldiers; miners, stage drivers; tradesmen, housewives; gamblers, prostitutes and outlaws.

According to legend Robbers’ Roost Station was burned by Indians.