South Pass City
Coordinates: 42 ° 28 '5.8 " N , 108 ° 47' 59.4" W.
South Pass City is a civil parish in Fremont County , Wyoming , United States . It is located at the top of the South Pass , near the village of Atlantic City and includes a residential part, the actual South Pass City, as well as an open-air museum , the South Pass City Historic Site . Since February 26, 1970, the place has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
history
The South Pass served travelers on the Oregon Trail from around 1840 until the Union Pacific Railroad was established in 1869 as the main crossing over the Rocky Mountains . In 1866 gold was found near the top of the pass . A year later, gold prospectors and adventurers, attracted by the gold discovery, founded South Pass City and the Carissa mine began operations. The boom continued in 1868. The population on the South Pass rose to 2000, more than half of which lived in South Pass City, the remainder in the neighboring towns of Atlantic City and Hamilton City . At the time, South Pass City alone had over 250 buildings, including seven hotels and several shops.
Mine and saloon owner William Bright initiated a bill in the first parliament of the Wyoming Territory that would allow women to vote. The law came into effect in 1869. This made Wyoming the first US territory to introduce women's suffrage . In 1870, Esther Hobart Morris , also resident in South Pass City, was named the first female justice of the peace .
From 1872 many miners and business people left South Pass City, disappointed with the meager gold finds and because the area turned over less money than hoped. By 1875, the population on the South Pass had dropped to around 100 people. The nearby Camp Stambaugh military post was abandoned in 1878. Later gold discoveries led to a second, smaller boom that temporarily pushed the population back to 500. Overall, the gold from the South Pass region is valued at $ 7 million. A handful of people still live in South Pass City today.
South Pass Historic Site
In 1966, Wyoming's 75th Anniversary Commission bought the South Pass City area to showcase local history to the public as an open-air museum. The South Pass Historic Site has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970. Around 30 South Pass City buildings have now been restored and opened for viewing. 30,000 artifacts are displayed in the buildings . In 2004, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources bought the Carissa mine just outside.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved December 28, 2011
- ↑ a b c d e Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
Web links
- South Pass City Historic Site (Engl.)
- South Pass City State Historic Site , Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites
- South Pass City at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office