Casper, WY - Fort Casper

This morning we head to Fort Casper

It has a nice little museum

A sheep wagon

 I could live in one of these

 Outside to the Fort itself.  Established in 1862,  Platte Street Station was built at the site of a bridge constructed earlier by trader Louis Guinard near the location of the first Mormon ferry across the North Platte Riverr. The Army outpost was meant to guard the mail service and the newly constructed transcontinental telegraph lines from attack by Plains Indian groups.

 The fort buildings were reconstructed in 1936 by local workers hired with funds from the federal Works Progress Administration

 Sutler Store

 Blacksmith  Shop

 Living Quarters

 Commissary

 Barracks and Dining Hall

 Guinard Bridge - 1st Bridge built in Casper by Louis Guinard.   The cost was $40,000.  A toll of $1 - $6  was charged determined by the height of the river.

 The Mormon Pioneer Party established the first commercial ferry operation at the Upper Crossing of the North Platte River in 1847.

Jail Cell from 1922 - one of 2 installed in the Mills Town Hall basement

 

This is a memorial cemetery with headstones for several soldiers from the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry who died while serving in the West.

Of 103 men, 92 were under 23 years old.  

 A beautiful sculpture on the grounds

A stop for lunch and the tour of Casper continues . . .