- Bear River City, Wyoming
Bear River City, Wyoming is a
ghost town that was briefly a rapidly thrown togetherrailroad town, located about ten miles south ofEvanston, Wyoming .The town can trace its origins back to the early 1860s. A businessman from Salt Lake City named Joseph F. Nounnan was contracted to construct the
Union Pacific railroad grade in the area where it crossed theBear River in southwestern Wyoming. He constructed a supply depot and lodging for his men on a site along the route of the Overland Stage as well as the path of theCalifornia andMormon emigration trails. [cite book |title=Echoes from the Rocky Mountains|last=Clampitt |first=John Wesley |authorlink=|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xAgmAAAAMAAJ|coauthors= |year=1888 |publisher=National Book Concern|location=|isbn= |pages=pp. 410-416] Due to its excellent location, the city grew rapidly. At its peak, the town had its ownnewspaper office, and ared light district . The town served as a passover forminer s, railroad workers, andhunter s heading farther into the west. It is best known for the "Bear River City Riot" that occurred onNovember 19 ,1868 .The riot began following the
vigilante lynch ing of amurder suspect who worked for the railroad. This resulted in friends to the lynched man revolting against the vigilantes, which caused the town to erupt in violence. TownMarshal Thomas J. Smith , only recently appointed, immediately took a stand against both factions. There were numerous shootouts during the riot, and almost the entire town was torched, including most town government buildings. Smith stood his ground, but was unable to stop the onslaught of several hundred rioters, with the end result being sixteen people killed.Town citizens repelled an assault on the town
jail , resulting in the deaths of numerous rioters, and one Bear River City citizen, Steve Stokes. AUS Cavalry troop was dispatched fromFort Bridger , andmartial law was imposed. The riot essentially ended any future the small town might have had, and it soon became deserted. Marshal Smith moved on to eventually become the Marshal ofAbilene, Kansas . His stand during the riot resulted in his nickname, "Bear River" Smith.References
External links
* [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-tomsmith.html Tom J. Smith]
* [http://userpages.aug.com/bdobson/photos9.html Wyoming Ghost Towns]
* [http://wyshs.org/maps-lcb-ft_bridger.htm Map of the emigrant trails near Fort Bridger, including the site of Bear River City]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.