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- Guernsey Lake Park, Wyo.
Guernsey Lake Park, Wyo.
Guidebook: "Points of Interest to the Tourist"
(originally published in 1936)
The Work of Prehistoric Man is much in evidence at the quartzite quarries less than twenty-five miles
northwest of Guernsey. Literally acres of rejected fragments give some idea of the great amount of stone removed by the most primitive of
methods before the dawn of history in this area.
On the Hill above the Quarries are many stone tipi circles where prehistoric Indians are believed to have
worked pieces of quartzite into useful tools and weapons. This so-called "Spanish Diggings" area has long been a fascinating problem
to Plains archaeologists.
Register Cliff Attracts Thousands of visitors annually. Here may be seen many signatures carved into
the soft rock by emigrants over the Oregon Trail who made their camp in the nearby valley their first night out of Fort Laramie. This site is
less than a mile and a quarter east of Guernsey on the south side of the Platte.
The Pony Express Passed This Way in 1860. This marker locates the site of a Poney Express Station on
the south side of the Platte one mile east of Guernsey.
Thousands of Westward Bound Wagons passing over the trail to Oregon, California, or Utah wore these
deep ruts in the soft stone on what is now known as Covered Wagon Hill on the south side of the Platte opposite the town of Guernsey. This
view faces east.
Wagon Ruts Nearly Four Feet Deep may still be seen on Covered Wagon Hill as a never-to-be-forgotten
reminder of the vast number of wagons that passed over the trail in the days before the railroad and paved highways. This view faces westward
up the hill.
Weathered Stumps of Telegraph Poles mark the course of the first transcontinental telegraph line
which passed along the south side of the Platte close by the Oregon Trail. This stump is within a few feet of the wagon ruts on Covered
Wagon Hill.
Here John C Fremont Camped his first night out from Fort Laramie in 1842. Next morning he proceeded up
the North Platte to the site of the present Guernsey Dam. He described the spot in detail in the report of his expedition.
A Grim Reminder of the Hardship of travel on the Oregon Trail. Here, close by Fremont's camping place,
is the grave of Lucinda Rollins who died beside the trail in 1849. The original rude headstone is now protected by a modern concrete marker.
Warm Springs is Mentioned in Many Diaries kept by Oregon Trail emigrants. Here overland travelers
stopped to do their washing. This site is located about two miles southwest of the town of Guernsey.
Lime for the Walls of Fort Laramie was burnt in this kiln located withing a few yards of Warm Springs.
Oregon Emigrants Sometimes Camped near Cold Springs, on the north side of the south brance of the Oregon
Trail some three miles west of Guernsey.
The Oregon Trail Crossed the Laramie river to Fort Laramie at this point. View looking eastward from Fort
Laramie, nine miles east of the town of Guernsey.
The Oldest Building at Fort Laramie is the sutler's store, a simple adobe structure build in the 1850's.
The right portion only of the structure illustrated was part of the original store. Fort Laramie is but a nine-mile's drive from Guernsey.
"Old Bedlam" Still Stands at Fort Laramie although this historic structure, once a fine officers'
quarters, is deteriorating rapidly. About this building Charles King wove his interesting story of military life on the old frontier, "The
Queen of Bedlam".
Site of Old Fort Bernard one of the trading posts along the Oregon Trail, about six miles east of Fort
Laramie on the south side of the North Platte river.
In This Peaceful Meadow was a deadly battle between Lt. Grattan's command and the Sioux in the summer of
1854, in a dispute over an emigrant's cow. It was the first armed conflict between government forces and the Teton Dakota Indians. The site is
less than twenty miles east of Guernsey.
Dick Whalen Built This Ranch House
on the north side of the Platte about 1868 when the region was still
Sioux Indian country. Remnants of the old ranch buildings may be seen today less than a half mile from the modern Whalen Dam.
Site of the Old Copper Smelter at Fairbank, a ghost town that once thrived on the north bank of the Platte
less than a mile east of Guernsey Dam. Copper from nearby mines was smelted here in the '80s.
The Lone Jack Mine at Sunrise six miles northeast of Guernsey is an interesting sight. Here iron is mined
by the peculiar milling process to furnish raw materials for the great steel mills at Pueblo, Colorado.
The Village Belle Mine at Sunrise is one of the deepest open pit mines in the world. Power for carrying on
mining operations is secured from the power plant at Guernsey Dam.
The Great Spillway of Guernsey Dam together with the large earth embankment and reservoir are points of
interest to the visitor to Guernsey Lake Park. These in themselves serve as large outdoor exhibits.
The Power Plant at Guernsey Dam where power is generated for distribution to the farms, homes, mines and
industrial plants of the Guernsey area. On the hill above the power plant is the headquarters of the North Platte Project.
Water Leaves the River on its way to the fields of the North Platte Project at Whalen diversion dam, some
three miles east of the town of Guernsey.
