The South Pass Hotel
This hotel opened in 1868 as the Idaho House. It advertised itself as “the only first class house in the city with commodious rooms comfortably fitted with new furniture.” The dining room was constantly supplied with game and all other available luxuries.

Janet Sherlock began operating the hotel in 1873 to support herself and her children after the death of her husband. Hotels were seen as extensions of the home and, therefore, one of the few businesses socially acceptable for a woman to own.

Local businessmen who convinced her to buy the hotel were concerned for more than her welfare. They were worried the dubious sanitation of the filthy establishments run by competitors might scare away prospective mining investors.

The hotel was operated by the Sherlock-Smith family from 1873 to the mid-1920s when it closed. It was used as a private residence until the 1960s. This building was dismantled to replace rotted timbers and then safely reconstructed by the State of Wyoming using original material where possible.

South Pass Hotel
This hotel was purchased by Janet Sherlock-Smith in the early 1870s and was operated by her and her family through the 1940s. It is the only remaining hotel of five that was in town during the early boom years. At one time the Post Office for South Pass City was located in the hotel and the mail slot is visible in the eastern most front door. This hotel also served as a stage stop.

During the late 1890s and early 1900s the family made its residence in the rooms on the bottom floor of the hotel. The beds, dressers and washstands in these rooms are original to the hotel during this period. The portraits on the wall in this room are portraits of Janet’s parents, Peter and Janet McOmie.

South Pass Hotel Rooms
Only one of the upstairs rooms was provided with heat. Guests in other rooms used several blankets and probably shared their beds with strangers who, like themselves, may not have bathed in many days. In winter, they may have awakened in the morning to find ice on their blankets.

The holes above the doors permitted air circulation between the rooms but did not help keep the rooms warm.

None of the rooms were supplied with plumbing. To wash, guests could take a sponge bath from the basins on the wash stands. They had to brave the cold winds and use the outhouse behind the hotel or use the chamber pots beneath the beds. The unpleasant daily task of cleaning the pots often fell to one of the girls in the proprietor’s family.

The Saloon
Saloons were common gathering places for miners in Central and Northern Rocky Mountain mining camps. Men could catch up on news of the latest gold or silver strikes, discuss politics, or talk about the results of the latest championship boxing match. In many instances, saloons in the mining camps were also used for polling places, Sunday sermons, courtrooms, and town meetings.

Bitter cold and large amounts of snowfall during the winter months in the Central and Northern Rocky Mountains kept mining to a minimum. A feeling of isolation was prevalent in remote mining camps. This feeling was worse in the winter, due to sporadic mail and supply deliveries, as well as the difficulty involved in traveling long distances between towns. One winter resident wrote, “Everything is dead here…You cannot imagine the ennui I endure.” Another wrote, “genius is taxed to provide amusement to pass the long winter evenings….” Saloons helped provide this badly needed amusement in the form of gambling, drinking and camaraderie; at least for the male portion of the population.

Faro
Faro is thought to have developed in France in the 17th Century. Throughout the 1800s, faro was an extremely popular game in the United States. One reporter called faro, “our national card game.” Faro is a pure gambling game, with no skill involved. The player places a bet on a card or cards to win, or places a copper token on a card or cards to lose. Faro’s popularity started to dwindle after 1900, and by the 1940s, the game could scarcely be found.

Tibbals Cabin
Barney Tibbals bought this cabin when he moved to South Pass City to manage the Carissa Gold Mine in 1896. After he married Anna Smith they moved into the managers quarters at the mine, and rented this cabin.

Emmett and Katie Connell rented this cabin from 1899 to aboout 1906. The first three of their six children were born while the Connells lived at South Pass City.

Emmett earned about $3.00 per day, working as a laborer in the Carissa Mine, while he paid about $7.50 per month for rent. The Connell family purchased supplies in the Smith-Sherlock Store and probably supplemented their food supply with wild game that could be hunted in the area.

Wood was the primary source of heat and cooking fuel and cost about $4.00 per cord. Archeological evidence also suggests that coal was used for heating and cooking, and probably obtained from coal mines in the Rock Springs area.

South Pass City State Historical Site