This Wild West Ghost Town Produced More Gold Than Most States Before Vanishing Into History

South Pass City, Wyoming

In 1867, South Pass City was the biggest thing between Salt Lake and Denver. Saloons lined the main street, miners worked around the clock, and politicians made deals that shaped the American West. Then it all ended as fast as it started. Here’s what happened.

H.S. Reedall Finds Gold In June 1867

H.S. Reedall found gold at the Carissa spot in June 1867. Native Americans attacked his group and made them run away for over a month. When miners came back, they posted guards with guns while they worked.

Mining started in late summer 1867 and went through winter. Miners took 40 ounces of gold dust to Salt Lake City. Workers there made it into a gold bar worth $740.06. More mining in Carissa gulch brought thousands more dollars through summer 1869.

News Gets Out About The Gold

Chicago newspapers picked up stories from Utah papers. The Utah paper ran the big headline “The New Gold Mines” and said the finds had “set the people wild.” Other papers kept writing about it, which started Wyoming’s gold rush.

About 2,000 people came to South Pass City in one year. By 1869, around 1,000 people lived in 250 buildings. The town had 12 stores, gambling houses, and bars. Sunday fun included dog fights and lots of gamblers in the streets.

Esther Morris Becomes America’s First Female Judge

Esther Morris became America’s first female judge on February 14, 1870. She was 59 years old. She got the job after the old judge quit because he didn’t like Wyoming’s new law letting women vote.

Morris arrested Judge J.W. Stillman right away when he wouldn’t give her his court papers. She made her son Archibald help run the court and son Robert work part-time. In nine months, Morris handled 27 cases including 9 crimes.

Wyoming Lets Women Vote First

William H. Bright owned a bar and mine in South Pass City. He wrote the law giving women the right to vote in Wyoming’s first legislature, and he pushed hard for the law to pass.

Governor John A. Campbell signed the law on December 10, 1869 and Wyoming became the first place in America where women could vote.

That was about 50 years before all American women got the vote in 1920 and gave Wyoming the nickname “The Equality State.”

The Mine’s Ups and Downs

Rich people from London said they’d buy the Carissa mine for $115,000 in 1869 but never paid all the money. The Federal Gold Mining Company became the biggest operation around 1900 using Chicago money, but it cost more to run than they made.

New owners fixed up the mine in 1929 with machines you can still see today. After World War II, the Carissa worked on 60 tons of rock daily in three shifts. Better machines helped after 1946, but money problems made the mine close for good in 1954.

The Gold Rush Ends And People Leave

The gold excitement died in just five short years. By 1872, only a few hundred people lived in South Pass City. The big gold finds that miners hoped for never happened.

The town dropped to about 100 people by the mid-1870s, then grew again to 180 by 1901. However, the 1910 count showed just 70 people. The mine opened again in 1885 but the town never got busy again.

Wyoming Saves The Empty Town

The last families left in 1949, leaving South Pass City mostly empty. In 1966, the family who owned most buildings gave them to Wyoming as the state’s 75th birthday gift.

This saved the town’s history. South Pass City eventually got put on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 1970.

Fixing Up The Old Mine

Wyoming bought the 200-acre Carissa Mine in 2003 after it sat empty for almost 50 years. Workers spent ten years putting back the old machines that were taken out when the mine closed.

Visiting South Pass City

South Pass City is around 37 miles southwest of Lander on Highway 28, at 8,000 feet elevation.

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail passes directly through town. Visitors can tour the Carissa Mine on weekends during summer months.

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