From 1849 through the end of the 19th century, thousands followed the Overland Trail into Wyoming, across the Laramie Plains, to a toll bridge near tree on the Laramie River. The historic crossing of the marshy plains consisted of a corduroy road which today is located southwest of the modern bridge. The surviving corduroy road remnant is all that remains of the trail in this area.
In 1862, Ben Holladay, consolidated several stage and freight operations to form the Overland Stage Company, which he moved from the Oregon Trail south to the Overland Trail. The new route proved to be both shorter and safer. He improved the trail and stage stations as he rose to dominate the stage, freight, and mail businesses. Constructed in 1862, Big Laramie Stage Station served as a "home station." where drivers' routes ended and passengers obtained meals while horses were changed.
Wells Fargo and Company bought Holladay's operation in 1866, three years before the completion of the Union Pacific's Transcontinental Railroad, which ended use of the Overland Stage. The Trail, however, continued to be used by local travelers and those unable to afford railroad fare. After completing a Union Pacific grading contact, Charles Hutton, Tom Alsop, and Edward Creighton created the Hart Ranch, which encompassed the property containing the Big Laramie Stage Station. Eventually Creighton sold his share and the divided into two with Alsop using the Stage Station as headquarters for his ranch on the west side of the river. The ranch is known today as Richardson's Overland Trail Ranch and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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