South Pass City Wyoming Ghost town and Historical Site -  - Photos Courtesy Mike Sinnwell March 2013

I got here a little early in the year, mid March. Still some snow left and the town site was not open for the season. I had to go back so I can see what gems are inside all the buildings. Well worth the second trip. Especially as now I had company. My personal photographer.

Although South Pass City was first a stage and telegraph station on the Oregon Trail during the 1850s. South Pass City’s first boom came in the summer of 1868. That is when the Cariso Lode was discovered. As happened with any new strike miners, merchants, & entrepreneurs flooded the area. Some claim that it brought over 2000 people to the area.  This boom, like many others, faded away when the “color” seemed to suddenly disappear. By the mid-1870s South Pass City's population was reduced to about 100 people.

The Carissa gold mine was the primary economic engine for South Pass City.  During the good years, many locals were employed as miners, hoist operators, & mill hands. The turn of the 20th century saw development underground. In 1929 work brought a new millhouse. After World War II, new technology was introduced to the mine & mill. Unfortunately the Carissa closed permanently in 1954.

Today a handful of residents call South Pass City home. The South Pass City State Historic Site, still preserves more than 30 historic structures dating from the city's heyday. Notable one time residents include Esther Hobart Morris the first woman in the US to serve as a Justice of the Peace. 

Well Worth a visit. Photos include several mines in and near South Pass City. The Carissa and the Mary Ellen to name a few.