You’ll Love Driving Through This Eerie Wyoming County Full Of Ghost Towns
By Kim Magaraci|Published October 28, 2018
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Kim Magaraci
Author
Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. Contact: kmagaraci@onlyinyourstate.com
Back in the 1800s, migrants made their way through Wyoming on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails. while the prospect of a better life was just beyond the Sawtooths or past the Great Salt Lake Desert, many Americans decided to stop their wagon trains right here in the Equality State. Mining was popular here, and whether it be for oil, gold, coal, or silver, small boomtowns popped up anywhere a mine could be dug. After the markets busted, the towns fell apart too, and Wyomingites made their way back home, onward to the coast, or to another part of the state. Wyoming’s very landscape tells the story of the boom-and-bust industries that first brought our forefathers out here to the mountains – and if you want to see a handful of ghost towns, all you have to do is visit Fremont County.
1. Many of the Fremont County Ghost Towns maintain a small population of dedicated loners - like in Atlantic City.
The town's welcome sign says "Population: About 57", but even that's a really high estimate. The town is best known for the Atlantic City Mercantile - oh, and truly being in the middle of nowhere. If you're visiting Atlantic City (or any of these ghost towns, really) be sure to have a high clearance vehicle and be prepared to have no services along the way.
South Pass City was once a hugely popular mining town, but today, the town's residents are few and far between. You can tour an area where a few buildings were preserved, and the Carissa Mine has been restored and open for tours on select dates.
Hamilton is now officially known as Miner's Delight, but most locals just call it by the original name. The BLM bought the town out and turned it into an educational tourist attraction, where you can learn about mining life out here in the Winds.
Bonneville is truly in the middle of nowhere, but it was once a popular railroad town. You can see this old depot still standing strong long after the trains stopped arriving.
Jeffrey City was once a uranium mining town, and it boomed and busted within three years. It's often cited in history textbooks because it was the perfect example of a town that popped up, grew quickly, and disappeared in such a short amount of time that hardly anyone would remember it existing.
Milford was a famous town because of its saloons - it was the closest place to Fort Washakie that sold liquor. Today, it's worth visiting to check out the creepy, historic cemeteries in town. The Alton-Leseberg cemetery and the Willcox-Masonic Cemetery. The Willcox-Masonic Cemetery is where Calamity Jane's sister Lena Canary Borner was laid to rest.
