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2000 Annual Trek
June 23-24-25, 2000
Hosted by the Lincoln County Chapter of the WYSHS
Kemmerer, Wyoming
Chairpersons:
Mary Lynn Corbett, Sue Giorgis, and Lucille Povsche
| FRIDAY, June 23 | |
| 3:00pm - 6:00pm | Registration |
| 3:00pm - 5:00pm | WYSHS Executive Committee meeting |
| 7:00pm | Nancy Weidel, WYSHS member, presents "The History of the Sheepwagon" - [CLICK FOR PIC] |
SATURDAY, June 24 | |
| 7:00am - 8:00am | Breakfast at Senior Citizen's Center |
| 8:00am - Noon |
Local history of the area and travel to Emigrant Springs:
Kemmerer was founded in 1897 as the result of the opening of the Kemmerer Coal Company's Frontier mine. Patrick J. Quealy and Mahlon S. Kemmerer founded the Kemmerer Coal Company, the Frontier Supply Company (company store), the Uinta Improvement Company, and the town of Kemmerer. Passing over the Hams Fork River (named after Zachariah Ham, a fur trapper), the trek followed a road, the probable route of the Hams Fork Cutoff (one of several variants of the Oregon-California Trail), to Emigrant Springs. 
Two trails, the Hams Fork Cutoff and the Sublette
Cutoff, converged at Emigrant Springs, an important camping site for
westward emigrants. Trek members allowed to walk up to the springs and
to see the trail ruts to the east of the interpretive sign.
The busses pass by Schuster Basin, the location of moonshine stills during prohibition. In the 1920's Kemmerer became a national center for bootlegging and a major supplier of liquor for Chicago. |
| Noon |
Lunch at the Pacific Power and Light Picnic Grounds. Terry Del Bene and Jon Billman entertain wearing clothing of the emigrant era and showing some of the personal necessities of an emigrant traveler. [CLICK FOR PICS] |
| 2:00pm - 2:30pm |
Dedication of the Rocky Gap Historical Monument placed by the Bureau of
Land Management.
Rocky Gap was a break in the ridge where emigrant
wagons rumbled over the stony ground of the Sublette Trail.
Just to the south of the historical marker, the Dempsey-Hockaday Cutoff
diverged from the Sublette Trail to shorten the passage over Commissary,
Dempsey and Rock Creek Ridges.
[CLICK FOR PICS]
|
| 2:30pm - 3:30pm |
History of Sublet Coal Mines given. Known for the best quality coal in the area, Sublet suffered an explosion in September 1924 killing 39 miners. Visit Seeds-kee-dee Agie, Spanish River, Rio Verde, Green River Interpretive Sign. |
| 3:30pm - 4:00pm |
At Names Hill, where the Sublette Cutoff crosses
the Green River, Karen Antilla Buck, local rancher and historian,
presented the history of the crossings of the Green River.
The history of Names Hill, a cliff of soft rock where emigrants carved their names, was told by Ms. Buck.Sublette Cutoff trail ruts are seen well leaving Names Hill. |
| 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
Visit town of Opal, Wyoming, which was a major shipping point for
cattle, and the Opal Mercantile Company, once one of the largest
mercantile establishments in western Wyoming. Visit town of Diamondville, Wyoming, known for the quality of coal, as it seemed to resemble black diamonds. Diamondville was incorporated in 1896. It was made up of people of several nationalities, most notable were the Finns, the Slavish, and the Italians. Back to Kemmerer after 140 miles of traveling. |
| 7:00pm - 9:00pm |
Wyoming State Historical Society 2000 Annual Trek Banquet
Entertainment by Dorene Ludwig, American Living History Theater. Dorene presented The Crossing: The Story of the Pioneers, which is a series of short one woman plays depicting remarkable women pioneers and their struggles. |
SUNDAY, June 25 | |
| 7:00am - 8:00am |
Breakfast at the Fossil Butte National Monument
|
| 8:00am - 10:00am |
Tours of Fossil Butte National Monument
Wyoming's State Flower, the Paintbrush, along one of the hiking trails at Fossil Butte National Monument |
Please contact us with your comments, suggestions or inquiries.
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