Making our way to Colorado, we stopped in the ghost town of South Pass City to visit family. This little town used to be a gold mining camp, and is a few miles north of the Oregon Trail. We were there right after the tourist season ended, and the buildings in town were being closed up for the winter. However, we were able to catch folks as they were still in the process of closing up buildings, and they were happy to give us a mini tour of the town. We were amazed by how much rich history this little place held.
The Miner’s Exchange Saloon was our first stop, which was home to one of the oldest billiard tables (ca 1840s) in the country. This pocketless table is also one of the rarest. The walls of the saloon were covered with canvas, which was then painted and stenciled. You could see where some of the old canvas was sagging a bit. We peeked under dust covers and were impressed at the details carved into the table.
The Carissa Saloon looked great with a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, the windows in almost all of the buildings were covered up for the winter, so we couldn’t see much inside any of them. We did find remnants of the stone walls of the ‘cribs’ used by the working ladies to entertain their gentlemen.
One of the cooler buildings we saw was the schoolhouse/jail combo. The Sweetwater County Jail is the oldest jail in Wyoming. In the back of the building, is the jail’s day room and a couple of holding cells. The front of the building houses a classroom, painted pink, with the alphabet still visible along the top of the front wall. It seems the building did not house both inmates and school children at the same time, as there was an old schoolhouse on the other side of town, too. But still, how’s that for inspiration to keep children in line?
The home of Esther Morris, who was our nation’s first female justice of the peace for the city of South Pass back in 1870, was on display. She is believed to have played an important role in writing the suffrage bill that gave women the right to vote in Wyoming in 1869 – another first in our nation. I think I would’ve loved meeting her. It was interesting to have historic site this just down the road from the working ladies’ cribs.
Later in the day, we took advantage of the brisk sunshine, and strolled through some old mining areas, where there were a combination of original and recreated structures.
If you ever have the chance to visit South Pass City, you should check it out. It is the coolest ghost town we’ve seen. Would visit again in a heartbeat!
Traveling Team Fischer 