Location
c/o State Parks & Historic Sites HQ
307-777-6323 or
Site Facilities
Surrounding land privately owned; no public access. Gift to State by Davis Family.
Brief History
Because of a large island in the middle, emigrants traveling on the Overland Trail found this a good place to ford the often dangerous North Platte River. Remotely located in a natural desert of sagebrush and grasses, the area was frequented by Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute Indians long before the coming of the emigrants. A small cemetery is nearby, with the graves of eight emigrant men and women buried between 1863 - 1865. Also nearby is the site of Bennett's ferry, where twisted buffalo hides were used as cables to pull ferries across during periods of high water. Today the area is devoted to ranching.
Wyoming's South Pass City boomed with the discovery of gold in the late 1860s, but as mine work dried up, so did the city. Unlike many such boom towns in Wyoming, it would not fade into oblivion – thanks to the government making it into a state historic site. Today, visiting Wyoming's ghost towns like South Pass City and the Grand Encampment District give color to the settlers' tales of triumph and those laced with defeat. read more
“The best organized mass migration in American history” began in 1846 as the first group of Mormons, led by Brigham Young, traveled from Nauvoo, Illinois to Great Salt Lake in Utah. read more
