The old Redwood Water Tank located adjacent to the railroad tracks on the east side of Lusk was built by the Wyoming Central Railway in 1886 to service steam engines. It is one of only six remaining in the United States.
Above the front door of the old Niobrara County courthouse it states "A Public Office is a Public Trust." It is too bad that our current politicians don't remember this saying.
The ruins of the old C&H Oil Refinery are small by current refinery standards, but they are typical of the multitude of small oil refineries that sprang up near oil fields across the nation in the early 1900s. The C&H Refinery produced 190 barrels a day and, unlike most of the small refineries that closed after a few years, the C&H stayed in business until 1978.
Just outside of Lusk is the grave of George Lathrop, Stagecoach Driver, who was "A good man whose life was filled with stirring events." The marker is located on the old Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail that passed through Lusk.
The Railroad Museum in Douglas contains a massive 317 ton steam locomotive (#5633) that was one of the last steam locomotives produced. Because this locomotive was so fast and capable of pulling very heavy loads, it stayed in service until 1956. Only five of this type of locomotives have been preserved in parks and museums.
The Railroad Museum also contains a number of Jackalope statues. According to an information sign in the park, the Jackalope "is one of the rarest animals in North America."
The White Wolf Saloon in downtown Douglas is more like a museum that contains a bar.
The Ayres Natural Bridge is a 150-foot sandstone bridge located across the LaPrele Creek between Douglas and Glenrock. This is a great place to stop for a rest break when traveling through the area.
The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper is one of three Historic Trail centers in Western United States. The Casper center explains the history of the Oregon, Mormon and California trails through a variety of exhibits and audio-visual presentations to help visitors experience first-hand the hardships pioneers suffered to get to the "Promised Land." This is an amazing center and should not be missed if you are ever in the area.
Independence Rock is a large granite outcrop along the Oregon, Mormon, and California trails (now Wyoming Highway 220) where emigrants carved their names in the rock as they passed by on their way west. It is a steep hike up the face of the rock outcrop, and there are no trails, handrails, or steps cut into the rock face; so you need shoes with good soles to make it to the top. The bulk of visitors that visit the site just walk around the base of the rock outcrop, but the best preserved names are on top.
"Devil's Gate" is located a few miles down the road from Independence Rock and, contrary to what many people believe, no trail ever went through the "gate."
The Mormon Handcart Historic Site is located a short distance from "Devil's Gate" on the old Tom Sun Ranch that is now owned by the Federal Government, under management of The Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Much of the surrounding area is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka LDS Church or Mormon Church), so the LDS Church now manages the Tom Sun Ranch and surrounding Federal Lands for the BLM. Our tour guide told us that during the summer months of 2015, over 25,000 young men and young women came to the Handcart Site to pull handcarts on three-day treks to see what the early pioneers had to endure. We were offered the opportunity to pull a handcart around a loop trail up to Martin's Cove, but it was late in the day, so we declined the offer.
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