The roads through southern Wyoming are remote and unforgiving. It might be miles of prairie and rocks before you see any sort of structure. The ones you see are old and decaying. This is ghost town country. And after a week spent in Lander, we drove 40 minutes south in search for them. Atlantic City came first, which shouldn’t be confused with the Nevada location, and has residents, although only a few. It could be a ghost town in a matter of years.
Then we came upon the Carissa mine, an imposing structure on the otherwise empty landscape. I’d never seen a mine like this before and it seemed to be in good condition, considering its age. We soon found out that gold was found here in 1867 by immigrant travelers, which led to the creation of the nearby town of South Pass City.
The gold ran out by the 1870s, leading to the mine’s first bust. But new mining technologies brought in a resurgence in mining here, this time in the 1900s. Different owners took over, all trying to get as much as they could from the site, but it finally closed for good in 1954. The mine was designated a historic site in 2003 and is now open for tours.
In its heyday in the 1800s, the town of South Pass City was the second largest in the Wyoming territory. But with every boom and bust fewer and fewer people stayed. It’s now a state historic site, educating visitors on what life was like back then.
Buildings have been restored to resemble what they were used for, whether that be a schoolhouse, tavern, general store, or inn. Other markers show what would have been in that location. The Oregon Trail passed nearby, between Fort Laramie and Independence Rock, which is how travelers ended up here in the first place.
South Pass City was a stopping over point where weary travelers could rest for a day or so before heading further east or west. Some stayed to work in the Carissa mine.
Signs indicated some of the notable residents of South Pass City. Esther Hobart Morris, first woman justice of the peace, and W.H. Bright, author of the first equal suffrage law, both lived here. Morris served less than nine months back in 1870, but it was seemingly unheard of to have a woman in this type of role.
At her urging, Bright, a representative and saloon owner, introduced women’s voting rights to the constitution of the territory in 1869. It’s amazing to think that this small town was so ahead of its time with women’s rights.
Today it’s largely a tourist attraction, but an important one. It’s necessary to see what happens to a place when the industry is gone, as it has in places like Detroit. To see what life was like back then. To see the place that left an impact on the territory of Wyoming.
Tips for Visiting South Pass City
South Pass City is located 45 minutes from Lander, the closest major town. The state historic site is open from May to September daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission is $2 for Wyoming residents and $4 for non-residents. Those under 18 are free. Tours of the Carissa Mine are available Thursday to Sunday at 2 pm seasonally.
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