The South Pass gold rush started in 1867, and South Pass became the largest city in Wyoming. But the boom went bust almost as quickly as it started, and the region fell into decline. Today the partially restored ghost town of South Pass City is the center of the South Pass Historic Mining District with numerous historic sites.

South Pass City contains over 20 original structures, including a jail, livery stable, school, saloons, and home. The authentically furnished South Pass Hotel will give you a realistic glimpse of what it was like to stay in the real west during the late 1800s. At the Miner’s Exchange Saloon, you can play billiards on a restored ca. 1840 billiard table, or you can visit the Smith-Sherlock General Store. At the Gold Mining Interpretive Center you’ll gain historic insight on the gold mining practices during the late 1800s. Costumed interpreters can be seen at times throughout the summer, gold panning and black smithing.

Oregon Trail and South Pass
The Oregon Trail had several major destinations, including Utah and California. The first large emigration occurred in 1843 when over 1,000 people made the arduous 2,000 mile, six month trip. In total, nearly 500,000 individuals followed this route across the continent. The ruts of their wagons and the graves of those who died enroute are still visible nearby. The last recorded wagon crossed South Pass in 1912. South Pass is the gentle ascent where the trail crosses the Continental Divide called “Uncle Sam’s backbone” by the emigrants. A stage and telegraph station where the trail made its final crossing of the Sweetwater River was established in 1850. That nearby site is now known as Burnt Ranch.

Gold
Many Oregon Trail emigrants were traveling to California in search of gold which had been discovered at Sutters Mill in 1848. Thousands of people hoped to strike it rich, but only a few succeeded. By the 1860s, gold and silver discoveries in Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Montana resulted in hundreds of new boom towns. When the Carissa Mine began producing gold in 1867, a rush to the South Pass area began and South Pass City was founded. The boom continued in 1868 and Atlantic City and Miners Delight were quickly erected. The area’s population soared to approximately 2,000 residents. Dozens of mines and hundreds of placer claims kept the miners busy.

A Busy, Dynamic Community
Businessmen arrived to fill the needs of the prospectors, and South Pass City soon developed a main street one half mile long. A resident could conduct business in general stores, butcher shops, restaurants, sawmills, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, a jewelry store and a furrier. Visitors could stay at one of seven hotels and seek an evening’s entertainment at several saloons and “sporting houses” all supplied with liquid refreshments by two local brewers and a wholesale liquor establishment.

A miner could leave his horse at one of four livery stables and hire any of several blacksmiths to shoe the animal, sharpen his mining tools or mend his wagon. A gun could be purchased or repaired at the gun shop and be used at the shooting gallery. A miner lucky enough to “strike it rich” could deposit his gold at the local bank or ship it home on a Wells Fargo Stage. A stout jail held troublemakers, while a school saw to the educational needs of the children. Doctors and lawyers hung out shingles to serve the needs of the new frontier community. Ranchers and farmers soon moved nearby.

Booms and Busts
All booms must end. In 1872, a bust hit the Sweetwater Mining District. Most miners became discouraged over the absence of large gold deposits and the lack of sufficient capital. By 1875, less than one hundred people remained in the area. Even the nearby military post of Camp Stambaugh closed in 1878.

Many prospectors wandered to other boom towns to continue their relentless search for gold. Some folks moved to nearby settlements and played important roles in the founding of such towns as Lander, Pinedale and Thermopolis. However, a few persistent miners remained and helped start the area’s future gold booms. A large hydraulic operation, a copper mine, a dredge, a strip mine and the continued gold speculation created South Pass mining rushes in the 1880s, 1890s, 1930s and 1960s. The population of Atlantic City and South Pass City bounced between a handful of people and as many as 500 residents. Today, a few prospectors continue to pan for gold and a couple of miners are still digging for ore.

Woman Suffrage
This rough and ready frontier community played a role in the woman suffrage movement. In the first territorial legislature, William Bright, a saloon keeper, mine owner and representative from South Pass City, wrote and introduced a woman suffrage bill. When this bill passed and the governor signed it in December 1869, Wyoming became the first territory or state to allow women the right to vote and hold office.

In February 1870, the county commissioners appointed Esther Morris as justice of the peace, making her the nation’s first female judge. Even though her selection was controversial in South Pass City, she was an effective judge and tried twenty-six cases. Esther Morris represents the important and unique role that women played in frontier towns.

In 1966 the Wyoming 75th Anniversary Commission purchased South Pass City as a birthday present for the citizens of the state. The once dilapidated buildings are now restored to their splendor of 1898-1912 and most are open to the public. Many of the 30,000 artifacts in the site collections are original to the town and are exhibited in their original locations. The labor of many individuals and several state agencies have combined to create one of the most authentic historic sites in existence. Visitors can literally step back into another era to view the “Old West” as it really was at South Pass City.

South Pass City Tour

1. Public Parking Area.
2. Restroom Area. now located near the parking area and a uni-sex facility is located near the Sherlock House.
3. Visitor Center. This 1890 dance hall also functioned as a theater, community center and Sunday school for many years. A stage driver who lost a leg to frost-bite, got his wooden peg stuck in a knothole while tripping the light fantastic and had to be pulled free by several men. The dance hall now contains the fee counter, information center, video theater, exhibits and a gill shop. ALL VISITORS MUST PAY FEES HERE.
4. Administration. The original buildings include a liquor warehouse, residence, law office and store. This modern facility houses artifacts not currently on exhibit, research files, etc. Authorized personnel only.
5. Tibbals Cabin. The two stone dugouts at the rear were miner’s residences in 1867-68. In the 1880s the existing front room was built and the kitchen was added in the 1890s which then incorporated the dugouts as additions to the kitchen. Barney Tibbals, manager of the Carissa Mine, lived in this cabin and later rented it to his employees.
6. Carr Butcher Shop. During the early 1900s William Carr operated a butcher shop here. Animals were killed and quartered at his corral in Slaughterhouse Gulch, about two miles south of town then processed at the shop.
7. Carissa Saloon. The Carissa dates to the 1890s and operated sporadically until 1949. An earlier saloon called the “White Swan” doubled as a whorehouse and was located next door to the east. The stone-walled remains of the “cribs” used by the Swan’s “soiled doves” is visible in the hillside near the northeast corner on the Carissa.
8. Smith Sherlock Co. Store. Built in 1896 of logs salvaged from the 1870 Episcopal Church, this building was intended to replace the old Smith Store next door. The family operated this business, including the Post Office until 1948. Peter Sherlock blinded during an 1880s mining accident, was the clerk. He could find anything in the store and recognized patrons by the sound of their footsteps. The Friends of South Pass now operate a concession area here.
9. Interpretive Center/Gold Mining Exhibit. This general mercantile store was built by town constable Jim Smith about 1874. The store provided goods for local miners, residents and area cowboys. The building was used as a warehouse after 1896 for the Smith Sherlock Store. Today the building is utilized as a museum exhibit center.
10. The Cave (Fort Bourbon). The massive interior stone wall was built in 1868 to protect perishable food and liquor. Archaeologists found secretly buried gold in a cast iron pot near the back wall. Folklore says when townspeople feared Indian attacks, women and children were locked safely in the back while the men went out to fight.
11. The John & Lida Sherlock House. This was built during the 1890s and early 1900s. When the family had another child, they added another room. The original building on this lot was a large hotel which burned about 1877. The cabin currently is under restoration.
12. Restroom And Drinking Fountain.
13. Ruins. This collapsed cabin once stood across the street, west of the red garage. The original foundation is still visible and was moved to this location in the 1950s. The original building on this lot was a store, also used as a post office and court house during the 1860s and 1870s.
14. Stamp Mill. This huge device crushed gold bearing ore fed under the 1,000 pound pistons through chutes at the rear. The gold was then separated from the dust by a variety of methods. In 1869 this mill stood near the Franklin Mine a half mile upstream and was powered by a large overshot water wheel. Later, in Palmetto Gulch two miles east, it was run by steam. This is the only remaining mill of more than 20 used in the district. It was moved to this location to protect it from vandals. DO NOT CLIMB ON THE STAMP MILL
15. Wolverine Mine. This small mine was dug searching for a vein of gold ore. Known as the Wolverine Mine it never found a paying quantity of gold and was soon abandoned. The exhibit allows visitors to safely enter a mine tunnel and experience the damp, enclosed atmosphere of a mine.
16. Schoolhouse. Citizens built this school just west of the parking lot (#1) about 1890. The building was moved away from the creek to this location in 1911. The school closed about 1948 when the last families with children moved away.
17. Cody Cabin. This small and hurriedly built cabin was constructed in the late 1890s. Archeological investigations done prior to restoration indicate that a married couple lived in this cabin for a brief period of time. Exhibit installation is planned in the near future.
18. Reniker Cabin. William Reniker, a Civil War veteran, lived in this cabin when not working his gold mine on Reniker Peak northwest of town. He moved the cabin to this spot from another location. Penciled numbers used to properly reassemble the cabin are still visible inside. Exhibit installation is planned in the near future.
19. E. A. Slack Cabin. Esther Morris was the first woman in the nation to hold political office. She served successfully as a justice of the peace in South Pass City in 1870. The five room cabin where she lived with her second husband and sons was located about 50 feet east of this reconstruction. E. A. Slack, Esther’s son published his newspaper the “South Pass News” and lived in this house beginning in June 1871. The original building burned in December 1871 and Slack moved his press to Laramie, Wyoming where he published the “Laramie Daily Independent.” The original Gordon Hand Press, which survived the fire is located in the northwest corner of the front room. It is on loan from the Univ. of Wyoming, American Heritage Center.
20. Blacksmith Shop. This 1915 shop contained a forge and tools to repair wagons and horsedrawn equipment. When automobiles became common, the smith had to learn new skills and obtain new types of tools and parts. This building was built of logs salvaged from the 1868 Ticknor Store located on Price Street just south of Willow Creek.
21. Variety Theater. Constructed on the foundation of an 1860s store, this modern theater is used for historic programs and speakers.
22. Red Garage. This garage, built in the 1920s to house one of the Sherlock family’s first automobiles, was constructed of logs salvaged from the butcher William Carr’s abandoned home and Jim Smith’s 1868 cabin, located where the Collections Administration Building #3 is today.
23. Ice House. This small frame cabin was used to store ice for food preservation and later as a summer residence.
24. South Pass Hotel. Opened as the Idaho House in 1868, this was the finest of many hotels in South Pass City. It was acquired in 1873 by Janet Sherlock, the widowed mother of five children. A hotel was considered a respectable business for a proper woman to operate. The local stagecoach stop was at the front door and the office at times served as the town Post Office. Robert Todd Lincoln, General Phil Sheridan and many other notables stayed here. The Sherlock family quarters and kitchen are accessed from the rear.
25. Restaurant. Janet Sherlock Smith built the restaurant as an addition to the South Pass Hotel in 1899. The front room became the hotel’s new lobby with the dining room and kitchen to the rear.
26. Exchange Saloon & Card Room. Beginning about 1873 the building was converted into the Exchange Saloon and operated as such, through the turn of the century. The lean-to next to the building was added to the saloon as a card room during the 1880s.
27. Livery Stable. This barn was built in the 1890s of logs salvaged from earlier structures. This part of town was the location of many stables which catered to miners, investors and locals who wanted to buy or rent horses, wagons or stable their own animals. It was also the scene of clandestine activities; many whiskey bottles and at least one gun was buried under the floor of this stable and later found in archaeological excavations.
28. Miner’s Exchange Saloon. John Swingle, a county commissioner, building contractor, bar owner, stable owner and undertaker erected this structure in 1869. This was his popular Miners Exchange Saloon, where gold could be exchanged for whiskey. Later, the building was used as a residence. A millinery operated by two “tough women” in this building may have disguised a bordello in the rear.
29. Sweetwater County Jail. In answer to the needs of the raucous mining town, the county built this jail in 1870. One man who could not bear incarceration in the tiny, frigid, dark cells committed suicide; several others attempted to escape. No one was ever legally executed in South Pass City. County offices were moved to Green River in 1873, but use of this jail continued for several years. By the 1880s it was abandoned until the front room was appropriated for use as a school room. The alphabet is still visible on the wall above the front door.
30. Libby/Pest House. Harry Libby built this two room home in the spring of 1899 after being fired by Barney Tibbals from the Carissa Mine. Libby and his family left South Pass City in February 1900 and sold the cabin to Joe Blewett. In 1901 the cabin again sold to J. J. Marrin and Anna Tibbals. Some evidence suggests that this cabin may have been utilized as a Pest House or “isolation hospital” during a small pox epidemic in February 1901
31. Rock Cabin. The hack room of this cabin was built about 1867. The family who lived here simply threw their trash on the ground outside the door. When the front room was added, the trash dump became their floor. Later, according to legend, the hack room was the first jail in South Pass City. There is no interior exhibit here.
32. Masonic Lodge. This is a private reconstruction of the Freund Brothers gun shop, agents for the Winchester 18-shot repeating rifle. The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons #28, U.D. Nebraska, now Wyoming Lodge #2, rented the second story of the building for a meeting place. The same organization (Lander, WY) reconstructed the building.

Reprinted from Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites brochure.

South Pass City Interpretive Plaques