Introduction 



Near Torrington, the primary route of the 

 Oregon Trail was south of the North Platte River 

 while the Mormon Trail followed the old fur 

 trappers trace on the north side of the river near 

 Guernsey. In addition to the primary route for the 

 Oregon and Mormon Trails, the Plateau route lay 

 to the south and the Childs Route of 1850 lay 

 to the north. There were numerous short detours 

 and bypasses in addition to these noted 

 alternatives. 



Near Casper, the Childs Route was north of the 

 North Platte River while the primary route of the 

 Oregon and Mormon Trails was south of the river 

 until reaching the Mormon Ferry northeast of the 

 city. An alternate river crossing was near the 

 present Fort Caspar on the west end of town. 



West of Casper the routes divided further. The 

 Bessemer Bend route followed the present 

 Highway 220 west of Casper, as did two other 

 alternatives north of the river but south of the 

 primary route. The primary route led generally 

 west from present day Mills, Wyoming (a suburb 

 of Casper) along the Poison Spider road to 

 Emigrant Gap about nine miles west of Casper. 

 The Bessemer Bend Route rejoins the primary 

 route of the Oregon and Mormon Trails about 

 seven miles southwest of Emigrant Gap. From that 

 point for many miles only one route was utilized, 

 with few detours and/or alternatives. 



The vast majority of the routes described so 

 far are on private or state lands. Few vestiges of 

 the original routes remain as most have been 

 obliterated by agricultural practices, road 

 building, urban development, or other activities. 



The primary route then led southwest through 

 such notable landmarks as Rock Avenue, Willow 

 Spring, and Prospect Hill to the Sweetwater River 

 and Independence Rock, one of the most 

 important and well known historic sites on the 

 Oregon Trail. West of Independence Rock the land 

 ownership pattern changes radically with the 

 majority of the trails being on public land managed 

 by the BLM. 



Near Jeffrey City, alternatives were pioneered 

 to bypass the primary route's three crossings of 

 the Sweetwater. One alternative passed through 

 present Jeffrey City while the other, the Deep Sand 

 Route, passed the present site of the Western 

 Nuclear Uranium Mill 1.5 miles to the north. 



The next major alternative to the primary route 

 is the Seminoe Cutoff which led south of the 

 Sweetwater River near Sweetwater Canyon and 

 the famous Rocky Ridges. This alternative is 

 generally associated with the California Gold Rush 

 and is commonly referred to as the California 



Emigrant Trail. The Seminoe Cutoff rejoined the 

 primary route near Burnt Ranch. Other minor 

 alternatives avoided the Rocky Ridges both to the 

 south and north of the primary trail route. 



At Burnt Ranch, another major route alternative 

 was the Lander Road. This cutoff led northwest 

 through Sublette County, then west over the 

 Wyoming Range in the present Bridger National 

 Forest. It entered the Star Valley south of Smoot 

 and left the state of Wyoming near Auburn. The 

 Lander Road was developed by the U.S. 

 Government to shorten the route to Oregon and 

 to provide better forage for livestock and draft 

 animals used in the westward migration. 



In 1844, a major cutoff to the Oregon Trail was 

 established in the Green River Basin. This became 

 known as the Sublette Cutoff. It was first 

 developed by Caleb Greenwood and William 

 Sublette. Its major advantage was that it cut off 

 the 50 to 60 mile loop to Fort Bridger, a distance 

 equivalent to about three days' travel. As a result, 

 it was very popular with the California emigrants 

 and the 49ers headed for the gold rush. This cutoff 

 was noted for its lack of water and other hardships 

 because of the desert crossing. 



From Fort Bridger, the Mormon Pioneer Trail 

 diverged from the Oregon Trail and led west- 

 southwest through the Bridger Valley and exited 

 Wyoming through the "Needles" south of the town 

 of Evanston. 



The Bridger Route of the Oregon Trail headed 

 northwest from Fort Bridger, crossing the Bear 

 River Divide in various ways, and entered present 

 day Idaho south of Cokeville, Wyoming. Several 

 bypasses and detours were found along the 

 primary route southwest of Fossil Butte National 

 Monument. 



Other lesser known alternatives include the 

 Slate Creek Cutoff which led from the Big Sandy 

 River east of Lombard Ferry on the Green River 

 to the Green River at the Case-Davis Ferry near 

 the present-day Fontenelle Dam. Others included 

 the Kinney Cutoff which led from Lombard Ferry 

 on the Green River to the Sublette Cutoff at Rocky 

 Gap, and the Dempsey-Hockaday cutoff which 

 shortened the Sublette Cutoff somewhat from 

 Rocky Gap to a point west on the Sublette Cutoff. 

 Table 1 lists the principle routes and cutoffs by 

 name and general location. 



Certified sites and segments of the Oregon and 

 Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trails are listed 

 in Tables 2, 3, and 4. A certified site or segment 

 of a National Historic Trail is an official designated 

 component of the National Trail System. These, 

 at present, are limited to sites and segments on 



