From the early 1840s until the completion of the railroad in 1869, all of the emigrant trails but the Overland Trail followed the North Platte River in Wyoming. Early trappers, explorers and missionaries forged this primitive highway, which subsequently served at least 200.000 pioneers bound for California. 50.000 bound for Oregon, and 70,000 Mormons bound for the deserts of Utah. Pony Express riders, freighters, soldiers and stage coach drivers also used the same well-worn Wyoming paths linking East and West.

“Casper was a significant point on the Mormon Trail for two reasons …”

1. The “Last Crossing” of the North Platte took place near Casper.

A series of canyons upstream from Casper (southwest) remained virtually impassable until long after the pioneer period. Casper, then called the “Last Crossing,” is significant in trail history because it is in this vicinity that all of the Mormon, California, and Oregon pioneers finally crossed and abandoned the North Platte River which had guided and sustained them through Nebraska and much of Wyoming. Crossing these swollen waters was a very dangerous undertaking that cost many lives.

In recent times, the construction of several upstream dams has regulated the spring runoff flow of the North Platte, but in the mid-19th century, the pioneers had to cross torrential waters up to a mile across. There were several alternative crossing points, in the short stretch between Deer Creek and Bessemer Bend near Casper where this perilous operation could be accomplished. Wind velocity, water level, and other seasonal variables influenced the particular crossing site selected.

2. Casper marked the northernmost point of the Mormon Trail. Due to the peculiar deviation of the North Platte River around the mountains of south-central Wyoming (including Casper Mountain), the Casper area also marks the northernmost point along the Mormon Trail.

Three key events in Mormon history happened near Casper:

The region around Casper is significant in Mormon history because of three key events which took place here:

1. Establishment of the “Mormon Ferry” (1847);
2. Martin Handcart Company disaster (1856);
3. Attempt to establish a mail station in Glenrock which helped precipitate the “Utah War” (1857).

The Mormon Ferry (1847-1852)
As they approached the “Upper Crossing” of the North Platte, Brigham Young sent ahead a detachment of 40 men to secure a boat and prepare a way to ferry the wagons across the river. A Missouri company had preceded them, and arranged a contract with the Mormon ferry-builders to carry their wagons across for $1.50 per load in the “Revenue Cutter” — a leather boat which also served as a butcher wagon and pulpit which the pioneers had the foresight to bring from Winter Quarters. It had the capacity to carry cargoes weighing 1,500-1,800 pounds. Fees were paid in flour at the rate of $2.50 per hundred pounds when the going rate was $10 per hundred pounds elsewhere. Though they got 24 wagons across and earned $34 in this endeavor, they found that the wagons often rolled over in the currents, and the horses risked drowning. It was clear that a more efficient and reliable strategy for crossing these swollen currents had to be found.

Brigham Young arrived at the Upper Crossing of the North Platte with the rest of the 72-wagon company of 143 men, three women and two children on June 12, 1847. His party had to wait for the Missouri group to finish crossing. Then the Mormons ferried their emptied wagons while displaced provisions and personal belongings were carried across on the “Revenue Cutter.” Strong winds and high water (150 yards wide and 10 to 15-feet deep) made the crossing difficult and extremely dangerous. After a long day, only 23 wagons rested safely on the other side of the river.

Frustrated by this slow progress, Brigham Young commissioned the construction of a larger ferry boat. Men were sent to locate two 23-foot cottonwood trees, which were hollowed out like canoes to serve as the base. Cross timbers were obtained from the mountain and slabbing for the floor from other cottonwoods. After just three days, the ferry was complete and had been provided as well with two oars and a rudder for control. Brigham Young realized that subsequent Mormon companies would require the ferry to cross the North Platte, and he also appreciated the revenue-generating potential of helping other pioneers cross the river. Wilford Woodruff recorded that “ … President Young thought it wisdom to leave a number of the brethren here and keep a ferry until our Company Came up. Emegrants will pay for ferrying $1.50 cnts per waggon …” [sic].

After the Mormons had completed the crossing, other small wagon trains bound for Oregon contracted with the ferrymen to carry them across. On June 19, one week after their arrival, Brigham Young named nine men to remain and operate the ferry while he and the others pushed on to their new home in present-day Utah. A tenth, Eric Glines, elected himelf to stay behind with the ferrymen. These ten men possessed a variety of professional skills which were offered to other pioneers passing through. Mormon pioneers received these services free of charge; others paid $4-5 per wagon.

The original ferry was located near the present site of Fort Caspar, but a few days after Brigham Young’s departure, in response to temporary competition, it was moved downstreamseveral miles. A sign post advertising the services provided by the Mormon Ferry was erected 28 miles downriver at Deer Creek (Glenrock). This was the first advertising sign in central Wyoming.

The Mormon ferry operation, established in 1847 by Brigham Young, marked the begin- ning of commercial ferrying in the Rocky Mountains. Every summer between 1848 and 1852, Mormon men returned to Casper from Salt Lake City to operate it during the “high water period” (between late May and July).

In 1847 and 1848, the Mormons enjoyed a near monopoly in the ferry business, but in 1849 at least three non-Mormon ferries began operating in the area. Even so, heavy traffic to the gold fields of California often created crossing delays that lasted up to a week. By this time, an ingenious rope and pulley system made it possible for the “Mormon Ferry” to carry a loaded wagon across the river in just five minutes.

Original Ferry Crew
Thomas Crover Captain (professional ferryman)
William Empey Assistant Captain
Appleton Harmon Carpenter/mechanic
Luke Johnson Doctor and hunter
James Davenport Blacksmith
James Highee Herdsman
Edmund Ellsworth Hunter
Francis Pomeroy Hunter
Benjamin Stewart Coal miner at Deer Creek
Eric Glines Crew member
Martin Handcart Company Disaster (1856)

In 1856 the financial burden associated with getting destitute European converts across the plains to join the Saints in Utah forced Mormon leaders to find ways to cut costs. Accordingly, Brigham Young instructed these converts to walk to “Zion” from the end of the railroad (which was then under construction), bearing their meager possessions in “handcarts” which could be pushed and pulled along the trail without the assistance of animals.

A handcart was a two-wheeled, wooden wagon, similar in design to an over-sized wheelbarrow. Each was about six-feet long, four-feet wide and five-feet deep when loaded to capacity with 400-500 pounds of provisions. Nevertheless, “handcart pioneers” could make the entire trip from Liverpool, England to the Salt Lake Valley for less than $45, in weeks less time, and with fewer casualties than those using costly covered wagons. In all, ten handcart companies with 2,962 pioneers — three percent of the total number of the Mormon emigrants - journeyed to the Salt Lake Valley between 1856 and 1860.

The first three handcart companies reached the Salt Lake Valley safely in 1856, but tragedy struck the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies which followed, as well as the Hunt and Hodgett wagon trains behind them. When they arrived at Iowa City (the departure point at the end of the railroad), these English and Scandinavian emigrants found that their handcarts were not ready as promised. Consequently, they were delayed as handcarts were hastily constructed of unseasoned wood, which would later shrink, warp, and crack as they were drawn along the trail in the summer heat. Determined to reach Utah rather than be stranded among strangers, James G. Willie’s company left Iowa City on July 15; Edward Martin’s left July 26. Almost a month later, August 11, the Willie Company pulled into Florence.

So late in the season, the question of proceeding was put to a vote. All but the experienced Levi Savage voted to travel on. Savage, with tears running down his cheeks, reportedly pleaded for “… the old, weak, and sickly to stop until another spring … that if such undertook the journey at that late season of the year, that their bones would strew the way.” He added, “Brothers and Sisters, what I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help you all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you, and, if necessary, I will die with you. May God in His mercy bless and preserve us.”

As Savage predicted, a number of handcarts broke down. The cargo was redistributed on those remaining until they were grossly overloaded. Ironically, it was at Deer Creek, just two days from Casper, that the loads were reduced from 17 to 10 pounds per person, and the pioneers discarded the clothing, food, and blankets they would desperately need to sustain life within the week. Weak from fatigue and lack of food, many of the emigrants found themselves caught short of clothing and rations when the early and harsh winter storms of 1856 struck suddenly on October 19. One witness at Reshaw Bridge watched these impoverished pioneers ford the freezing river because they could not afford the bridge toll. This part of the ordeal hastened the death of many.

The Willie Company was caught near the sixth crossing of the Sweetwater River. Most of the losses from the Martin Company occurred between the North Platte crossing and Martin’s Cove. When possible, the dead were wrapped in sheets and lowered into shallow graves, where they were then covered with stones to keep wolves away. However, much of the time the hard-frozen ground prevented burial, and corpses could only be covered with blankets and snow and left above-ground.

By the time a rescue party arrived from Salt Lake City on November 1, over 18 inches of snow had fallen, and temperatures had dropped to -14 F. Straggling survivors were picked up for nearly 60 miles along the trail from the Bessemer Bend area to Martin’s Cove, near Devil’s Gate, where the Martin Company survivors regrouped after the rescue party arrived. The Hunt and Hodgett wagon trains were caught in the same storm and added to the numbers gathering at Martin’s Cove — ultimately about 800 people including the rescuers.

Sixty-seven of the Willie Handcart Company died before the remaining members reached Salt Lake City on November 9, 1856. Of the Martin Handcart Company, 145 died before the party finally reached Salt Lake at the end of November. Many more from both companies lost limbs or extremities. Others sustained lifelong physical impairments from the ordeal.

Attempt to Grow Crops and Establish a Mail Station Near Glenrock (1857)
Information is limited about the attempts of the Mormons to plant crops in Glenrock for the benefit of Mormon pioneers who would later pass through the area en route to Salt Lake City, but some believe their efforts began in the mid-1850s and persisted until the Utah War of 1857. By 1856, Hiram Kimball had secured a federal contract for delivering mail along the trail. In May 1857, Brigham Young announced the erection of a series of mail stations along the route, and dispatched crews from Salt Lake to build them that summer. One station was to be located at Deer Creek, and in anticipation of this development, a fort and thriving settlement were begun the same summer near Glenrock. However, this venture was quickly abandoned in August 1857 due to deteriorating relations between the Mormons and the federal government. The ensuing dispute known as the “Utah War” resulted in the cancellation of the mail contract and the subsequent dispatch of 2,500 federal troops to Utah under the command of Albert Sidney Johnson.

Reprint of article prepared by the Casper Wyoming Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints