The Point of Rocks

Stage Station A stage station or relay station, also known as a staging post, a posting station, or a stage stop, is a place where exhausted horses could be replaced by fresh animals, since a long journey was much faster without delays when horses needed rest ...

is a former resting place at the meeting point of the Overland Trail and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, USA. It was built as a stop for the Overland Stage Line in the 1861 or 1862, equidistant between the earlier Black Buttes and Salt Wells stations, which were apart. The station served the stage line from 1862 to 1868. In 1868, the Union Pacific line reached Point of Rocks, putting the stage line out of business. The station then became a freight depot for nearby mines, with a road leading to Atlantic City and South Pass. The freight activity declined, and in 1877, the station became a residence. At one point it was allegedly inhabited by Jim McKee, a former member of the

Hole in the Wall Gang The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was a gang in the American Wild West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming, where several outlaw gangs had their hideouts. Description The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was not simp ...

. It became the property of the state of Wyoming in 1947 and is administered as Point of Rocks Stage Station State Historic Site. Point of Rocks Station is sited next to the alkaline Bitter Creek, in a valley framed by steep cliffs. The station is a low one-story building, built of local sandstone with mud mortar. The station has burned at least once, and roof construction is a timber structure with metal covering. A stable building is nearby. The station is close to the present-day Interstate 80. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on April 3, 1970.

References

External links

Point of Rocks Stage Station State Historic Site
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
Point of Rocks Stage Station State Historic Site
Wyoming State Historical Society
Point of Rocks Stage Station
Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Point of Rocks Stage Station, Rock Springs vicinity, Point of Rocks, Sweetwater, WY
Library of Congress

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS)
Point of Rocks Stage Station, Stable, Rock Springs vicinity, Point of Rocks, Sweetwater, WY
Library of Congress

(HABS) {{Protected areas of Wyoming Stagecoach stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Buildings and structures completed in 1862 Buildings and structures in Sweetwater County, Wyoming Historic American Buildings Survey in Wyoming Wyoming state historic sites Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Tourist attractions in Sweetwater County, Wyoming 1862 establishments in Nebraska Territory National Register of Historic Places in Sweetwater County, Wyoming Overland Trail IUCN Category III