Oregon Trail Ruts (Guernsey, Wyoming)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oregon Trail Ruts
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Oregon Trail Ruts (Guernsey, Wyoming) (Wyoming)
Oregon Trail Ruts (Guernsey, Wyoming)
Nearest city: Guernsey, Wyoming
Coordinates: 42°15′22″N 104°44′58″W / 42.25611, -104.74944Coordinates: 42°15′22″N 104°44′58″W / 42.25611, -104.74944
Built/Founded: 1841
Designated as NHL: May 23, 1966[1]
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[2]
NRHP Reference#: 66000761
Governing body: State

Oregon Trail Ruts is a preserved site of wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail on the North Platte River, about .5 miles south of Guernsey, Wyoming. The Oregon Trail here was winding up towards South Pass. Wagon wheels, draft animals, and people wore down the trail about two to six feet into a sandstone ridge here, during its heavy usage from 1841-1869.[3] The half-mile stretch is "unsurpassed" and is the best-preserved of Oregon Trail ruts anywhere along its former length.[3]

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.[1][3]

The site may be wholly contained within Guernsey State Park, which separately was declared a National Historic Landmark for its Civilian Conservation Corps structures, unrelated to the Oregon Trail Ruts.

Oregon Trail ruts, 2003
Oregon Trail ruts, 2003

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Oregon Trail Ruts. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  2. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  3. ^ a b c Stephen Lissandrello (May 15, 1976), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Oregon Trail RutsPDF (32 KB), National Park Service  and Accompanying 5 photos, undated and from 1975PDF (32 KB)


This article about a Registered Historic Place in Wyoming is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
v • d • e
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Park Service logo