Willow Springs Historical

Willow Springs Historical (HM1SWJ)

Location: Alcova, WY 82620 Natrona County
Buy Wyoming State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 42° 40.464', W 106° 47.586'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 863 views
Inscription

Willow Springs Pony Express Station

After the last crossing of the North Platte River in the present Casper area, twenty to twenty-five miles east of here, wagons followed the Oregon-California Trail entered a dry, dreary alkali area where fresh water was scarce. Willow Springs was the first dependable source of good water to be found after leaving the river. For wagons it was normally a two-day drive from the river to these springs and its drainage, Willow Creek.
There were two main alternate routes from the Casper area, and from the junction of the routes at Iron Creek. eleven miles northeast of here, the Oregon-California Trail followed a single track to Independence Rock on the Sweetwater River. Nearly 400,000 covered wagon emigrants, the Overland Stage route, and the Pony Express followed the trail to Willow Springs.
James Shields reached the Springs on June 8, 1850 and wrote:
Two hours having fled by, we moved onward 3 miles to Willow Springs where we found about 4 springs of excellent clear & cool water. These springs are on the right about 1/4 of a mile apart. This looks something like an Eden spot in a deserts, the springs being surrounded with flowers and roses of different hues. There are also several cottonwood and willow trees growing upon the bank of each spring. The last of the Willow Springs is more beautiful than the others,
being in the midst of a grove of small trees. The water boils up from the center among the sand as clear as a crystal & has a delicious flavor.

Sir Richard Burton was aboard the Salt Lake stage when he reached the Springs on August 17, 1860:
We nooned at Willow Springs, a little dogger boasting of a shed and a bunk, but no corral; and we soothed, with a drink of our whiskey, the excited feelings of the Rancheros. The poor fellows have been plundered of their bread and dried meat by some petty thief, who had burrowed under the wall... The water was unusually good at Willow Springs: unfortunately, however, there was nothing else.
Details
HM NumberHM1SWJ
Series This marker is part of the Oregon Trail series, and the Pony Express National Historic Trail series.
Tags
Year Placed2998
Placed ByOregon-California Trail Association
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, July 3rd, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13T E 353076 N 4726217
Decimal Degrees42.67440000, -106.79310000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 40.464', W 106° 47.586'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 40' 27.84" N, 106° 47' 35.16" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)307
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Co Rd 319, Alcova WY 82620, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. This marker needs at least one picture.
  8. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  9. Is the marker in the median?