A series where we take a #lookback at the stories and history of our community, brought to you by Mick Pryor, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.
This year, 2026, marks the 250th anniversary (semiquincentennial) of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the creation of the United States of America. While celebrations are being planned and prepared for this year’s festivities, let’s take a look back at the Bicentennial Wagon Train and how people commemorated the United States’ 200th anniversary (bicentennial).
The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage, organized by the Bicentennial Commission of Pennsylvania, was a series of covered wagons that set off from a variety of locations in the country eventually meeting in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1976.
Valley Forge is the site where the Continental Army camped for the winter of 1777-1778 during the American Revolution. In the midst of the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, it was established as a national historic site.
The first wagon on the Bicentennial Pilgrimage left from Blaine, Washington in June of 1975. Every wagon was intended to follow historic trails and routes. These included trails like the Bozeman, California, Mormon, Oregon, Santa Fe, and more. The Pennsylvania commission provided either a Conestoga or Prairie Schooner wagon for each state.
The wagon train that set off from Washington, and followed the Oregon Trail, eventually made it to Fremont County in September of 1975. It was joined by another wagon train, that had followed the Mormon Trail, at Parting-of-the-Ways, a historic junction in Sweetwater County which took travelers either to west to Oregon or southwest to Utah.
Stopping at Sweetwater Crossing at South Pass, both wagon trains entertained guests who journeyed to see them.
People who attended the celebrations were asked to dress up in historic clothing as the wagon train pilgrimage was being filmed by both the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).
There were potluck dinners, skits, and dancing. A ballet company, the American Folk Ballet, flew in from Los Angeles to perform at the Sweetwater stop. The Penn State entertainers, a group which traveled with the wagon trains, also performed at many of the various stops along the trail. Further, members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe set up three teepees along the Sweetwater riverbank for the festivities.
The wagon train only stayed in South Pass a short while before continuing its journey along the Oregon Trail to Jeffrey City. Eventually, the wagons reached their destination in Pennsylvania in July 1976. This state is considered the birthplace of the nation as it was in Philadelphia where delegates to the Second Continental Congress voted for independence and began the first chapter of a new nation.
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
June 12, 11am at the Dubois Museum, “Homesteading Series: Intro to Dutch Oven Cooking” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
June 13, 10am with the Riverton Museum, “Boysen History Walk and Talk”
June 18, 7pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Flint Knapping and Primitive Handiwork” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
June 20, 2pm at the Riverton Museum, “Rocky Mountain Redezvous Day” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
June 23, 6pm at the Riverton Museum, “American Revolution on Film & TV: Debunking Common Myths” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
Daily through December at the Pioneer Museum, “Sweetwater Ranch Life, The Paintings of Jack Corbett” Exhibition Opening
Rare Relics Road Show: Save the Date: Saturday October 10, 2026 Lander, WY Lander Community Center, You Are Invited!
Call the Dubois Museum 1-307-455-2284, the Pioneer Museum 1-307-332-3339 or the Riverton Museum 1-307-856-2665 for detail regarding their programs.
The Dubois Museum, the Pioneer Museum in Lander and the Riverton Museum need your financial support. In the current economic environment, the museums are more reliant than ever on donations from the private sector to continue to provide the quality programs, collections management, exhibits and services that have become their hallmark over the last four years. Please make your tax deductible contribution through the Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation https://windriverccf.funraise.org/ or by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.