Sweetwater County

Community - Granger
Granger is a town in Sweetwater County, in the Rock Springs metro area.

Ham’s Fork, South Bend, & Granger Stage Stations, Pony Express Station
c/o Ft. Bridger State Park P.O. Box 35, Fort Bridger
Phone: (307) 782-3842
Hours: Site grounds open year round, weather permitting. Sunrise to sunset.
Admission: Free
Description: This adobe-covered stone structure was one of dozens of Overland Trail stage stations built in the 1850s. The original station, Ham's Fork, was a dugout affair built around 1850. It was replaced by the stone structure in 1856 and renamed South Bend Station. Horace Greeley and Mark Twain were just two of the thousands of passengers who passed through. Later, the Pony Express used the station as a stopover in 1861-1862. When Union Pacific Railroad construction arrived in 1868, the old stage station was overrun with workers who renamed the site Granger.

Community - Green River
Green River is located in the southwest corner of the state. If you have driven I-80 across Wyoming and passed through twin tunnels, you have passed by a wonderful town! Nestled between rock formations with the Green River running through the heart of town it's a oasis in the "High Desert Country". The river attracted early settlers and served as a transportation hub for the Overland Trail, Cherokee Trail, Lincoln Highway, Union Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, and now Interstate 80. John Wesley Powell began his two river expeditions from "Expedition Island in the center of town.

Green River Downtown Historic District
This district is an example of an early 20th century Wyoming commercial center. The Union Pacific transcontinental line and the Lincoln Highway go through the heart of the thirteen structures. Built between 1891 and 1943, the district documents the importance of the railroad to the town, as well as developing significance of modern highway and communication technologies. It includes a 1910 brick railroad depot, pedestrian viaduct over the rail yard, bank, historic school, hotel, telephone and telegraph office, automotive garage and retail establishments, including the largest department stores of the time and the oldest continually operating bar in the city.
National Register Of Historic Places

Attractions

Expedition Island National Historic Landmark
South end of South Second East Green River, Green Belt and White Water Park, and East Bank of Green River , Green River
Phone: (307) 875-5711
Hours: Year Round, Daylight hours
Admission: Free
Description: Located in the center of Green River the site is the recognized starting point for two expeditions down the Green and Colorado Rivers led by Major John Wesley Powell in 1869 and 1871. Today it provides opportunities for a stroll that encircles the island. The paved pathway is lighted for safety and convenience. Parking access to the river is next door at Splash Park. The island is shaded and features picnic tables and shelters. Playground equipment, restrooms, and access to the Green Belt Nature Walk are available. The Island hosts River Festival, Art On the Green, and Flaming Gorge Days.

Sweetwater County Historical Museum
3 East Flaming Gorge Way , Green River
Phone: (307) 872-6435
Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 am - 6 pm. Closed Sunday and major holidays.
Admission: Free
Description: Established in 1967, the museum contains permanent and temporary exhibits, a large historical photograph collection, and local history research material. County history began with dinosaurs. Native Americans, mostly Shoshone and Ute, claimed the land followed by the mountain men. The first Rocky Mountain Rendezvous was held in 1825; the gathering in 1834 said to have been the largest ever. The Oregon, California, Mormon, Overland, and Cherokee Trails passed through, as well as the 1861 transcontinental telegraph line and Ben Holladay's Central Overland Express stage line. The building of the transcontinental railroad in 1868 developed Rock Springs and Green River.

Working Historic UPRR Depot (Green River)
200 East Railroad Avenue, Green River
Phone: (307) 872-0562
Hours: Not open to the public
Admission: Not open to the public
Description: Replacing the original frame depot, the Union Pacific Railroad Depot is a brick and stone structure with a tile roof. This, the second largest UP depot in the state, opened to the public in 1910. As Green River was the division point of two major railroad lines, the depot was built to impress with a colonnaded main entrance on the track side. The main building housed offices and passenger services, while the west wing contained the restaurant and the east, express offices. The depot is best viewed from atop the pedestrian viaduct located just west of the building.

Community - Point of Rocks
The community was named for sandstone ridge on Bitter Creek.

Point of Rocks (Almond) Overland Stage Station Historic Site
Approximately 25 miles east of Rock Springs—from Interstate 80, take Exit 130. Point of Rocks is one-half mile south. , Near Point of Rocks
Phone: (307) 332-3684
Hours: Year round, weather permitting, daylight hours
Admission: Free.
Description: This native sandstone structure, built in 1862 by the Overland Stage, is one of the only remaining stations on the Overland Trail. The stables are in ruins, but the station building has been restored. It withstood an attack and attempted burning by Plains Indians and the reported robbery and murder of stagecoach passengers by Jack Slade, outlaw and once stage line superintendent. With the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1868, it remained a station for a stage line running between the railroad and the Sweetwater gold mines to the north then served as a home, schoolhouse, and ranching headquarters.

Community - Rock Springs
Rock Springs developed thanks to mining. There were as many as ten mines located downtown. The early labor force consisted of miners from Kentucky and Pennsylvania, because of their experience in underground mines. Recruiters went to Europe to find more help, and families immigrated to Rock Springs. This diversity created the city slogan, “Home of 56 Nationalities.” The town became a leader in coal production, but paid a price. In 1888, Chinese miners were killed or driven out and Chinatown was burned, resulting in Federal troops being sent in to protect the immigrants from local citizens after the Civil War.

Downtown Rock Springs Historic District
This unique eight-block district straddles the Union Pacific Railroad main line and represents the commercial and social center of Rock Springs and several surrounding coal towns from the 1870s through the 1940s. The structures reflect a wide variety of architectural styles and usages including Union Pacific standard-plan railroad buildings, connecting pedestrian and vehicle underpasses, masonry commercial blocks, wooden-frame false fronts and the dramatic 1894 historic stone city hall built in the hefty Richardson Romanesque style.
National Register Of Historic Places

Wardell Court Historic Residential District
Built in 1920-21 by the Union Pacific Coal Company for company officers, this one-block district contains single and multiple residential buildings. The UPCC, the coal-mining arm of the Union Pacific Railroad, was headquartered in Rock Springs and provided fuel and commercial coal for the steam engines, power houses, offices and retail establishments company-wide. Located around a grassy central court, the district contains a large home for the General Manager, Craftsman style bungalows for lesser officials and a three-story multiple residence for unmarried officials. All buildings within the court are built of hollow ceramic tiles covered with stucco.
National Register of Historic Places

Attractions

Reliance Coal Tipple Historic Site
Take the Elk St. exit off I-80 in Rock Springs. Proceed north (left turn) on Highway 91 for 3.2 miles to the Reliance exit. Take County Road 4-42 1.4 miles to Reliance. Tipple is large gray structure to the left
Phone: (307) 872-6435
Hours:Please contact the Sweetwater County Historical Museum for more information
Admission: Free.
Description: A large industrial structure used to sort, grade and load coal, the Reliance Tipple was built in 1936. At the time it was touted as the most modern all-steel tipple in the Union Pacific Coal Company's extensive coal holdings. The building had a capacity of 500 tons of coal per hour and operated steadily throughout World War II. Due to declining markets, the Reliance coal mine and tipple closed in 1955. The building stood abandoned for many years before its restoration as a historic site in 1990. A path goes around the structure, lined with interpretive panels.

Rock Springs Museum - Historic City Hall & Fire Station
201 B Street , Rock Springs
Phone: (307) 362-3138
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm
Admission: Free
Description: Located in the historic Old City Hall, in the town where Butch Cassidy got his name. Experience life in a western coal town. Exhibit topics include coal mining and general Rock Springs history from 1868 to present. Rock Springs was incorporated in 1888 and the town was proud of the fact that no Union Pacific Railroad money was used for the construction of the building. The building housed city offices and the city jail until 1982 when the current City Hall was completed.

Weidner Wildlife Museum, Natural History Gallery & Art Gallery
2500 College Drive , Rock Springs
Phone: (307) 382-1600
Hours: Monday & Wednesday 10am to 1pm, Tuesday & Thursday 1pm to 4pm
Admission: Free
Description: These three galleries are located on the campus of Western Wyoming Community College. The Weidner Wildlife Exhibit contains mounts of 125 species collected worldwide. The Natural History Gallery features exhibits of local fossils and archaeological specimens. Scattered throughout the campus are life-sized casts of dinosaurs which roamed the prehistoric West. The WWCC Art Gallery contains works by regional and national artists representing a great variety of mediums as well as semi-annual student exhibitions.