It’s the quintessential American image. A lone cowboy heading west after the Civil War in search of fame, fortune, and whatever fate brings his way. A wandering cowboy and his family eventually built one of the oldest operating ranches in Fremont County on the Sweetwater River.
Mix that with another iconic Western scene, the stagecoach arriving at the station with weary horses, and wearier passengers.
The Myers Ranch, formerly the home of Doug and Cindy (Myers) Thompson of Lander and currently operated by their daughter Andrea and her husband Thad Dockery is where a lonesome rider’s family eventually found their home.
John Myers rode west from Kansas in 1875 after working as a carpenter after the War Between the States. As a Union soldier, John was a substitute, hired to fight by a wealthy Ohio man who avoided conscription for $300.
John was born in Pennsylvania in 1842, two years after his older brother Evan who was captured by the Confederates, released, and later served as part of the honor guard during President Lincoln’s funeral.
The brothers moved to Kansas where Evan remained for the rest of his life but the urge to see what was over the next hill took John west to the Sweetwater country of Wyoming Territory.
After a few years with the 71, John homesteaded the Countryman Ranch. A stage stop on the line from Rawlins to Ft. Brown was built on the Countryman ranch in the area of the corrals near the present-day house.
Their destiny merged with all the people of Fremont County when mail and freight began to flow northwest from Rawlins.
The Sweetwater River was the path to the West for the Oregon Trail and the link to the longest stage route in the world in the late 19th century, from Rawlins on the Union Pacific to Ft. Brown on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The Sweetwater in late summer and until the spring runoff is a lazy river, with many spots easy to ford, but during the runoff, it could be a wild torrent, ripping boulders and tall trees down its swirling, angry, silt-laden water.
Legend has it that the first bridge across this section of the Sweetwater was built by the US Army in 1880. It was not surprisingly called the Sweetwater Bridge. Myersville was on the south side of the bridge.
Soon after the stage and freight route was opened, a post office was established at Myersville in 1886. In the 19th century, a post office was the equivalent of UPS, a telephone, the Internet, and television, all rolled into one. It was a link to information and supplies from the outside world for farmers, ranchers, and miners in the largely uninhabited West.
Below Myersville was Rongis, owned by Eli Signor, above it toward Lander and Ft. Brown was Hailey, also eventually owned by Signor.
The Niobrara Stage line operating from Casper to the “Home Station” two miles west of Rongis departs from the Sweetwater at the bend, then connecting with the river again at the Sweetwater Bridge, located at Gates Ranch, seven miles further toward Lander.
The bridge was 30 feet across, constructed of heavy, treated logs as pylons and with thick wooden planks.
The Gates Ranch was both popular and a place to avoid depending on your personal preferences. It had a reputation as a “bucket of blood” establishment where whisky flowed freely and so did punches from drunken cowboys and freight hands.
The stage company avoided the ranch as much as they could, preferring to trade horses at Myersville.
With the Union Pacific well established after a period of derailments and track repairs, the U.S. Army decided in early 1878 to find a better route from the railroad north to Fort Brown. The original route left Bryan, a station near Green River, and followed the old Oregon Trail on the west side of the Wind River Range to an altitude above 8,000 feet through South Pass, and Atlantic City.
When the Army closed Fort Stambaugh, the deal was done. The route was moved east to Rawlins, with the telegraph lines connecting Camp Brown to the outside world, being moved as well to the next stage and freight route along the Sweetwater.
The only route in existence at the time went due north, through the aptly named Whiskey Gap (later Muddy Gap.) It was a rocky, muddy route with bogs dotting the trail.
Military Authorities at Camp Brown Seeking a Better Route to the U.P.R.R.
Carbon County News – February 2, 1878 – “The Carbon County Commissioners were requested to locate a road to Camp Brown, and to perform that duty at the earliest practicable date. They were instructed to make an estimate on the number of bridges needed, and the other work necessary to make a good practicable road.”
The original route went through Elkhorn Gap, near Green Mountain where an abundant herd of elk roamed. It was soon renamed “Crooks Gap” in honor of General Crook. A shortcut that eliminated almost 40 miles of trail through Whiskey Gap went west of Green Mountain through Crooks Gap and road construction began.
In July 1880, the Army decided to move the telegraph line from Green River to Fort Washakie (Fort Brown was renamed in the great Chief’s honor) to Rawlins.
THE RAWLINS-FORT WASHAKIE TELEGRAPH LINE
Carbon County Journal – July 3, 1880 – “The Fort Washakie or Sweetwater telegraph line is to be transferred from Green River to this place. Messrs. Rankin and Daley have the contract to furnish the telegraph poles between here and the Sweetwater River.”
Carbon County Journal
Budgets were tight with the US Army, especially in peacetime. Rather than simply abandoning the telegraph line from Green River to Ft. Washakie, they decided to recycle it. A work party of soldiers pulled all the wire, insulators, and usable poles and transported them over South Pass, descending the present-day Bison Basin Road to the Sweetwater stage route.
Carbon County Journal September 11, 1880 – “A party of soldiers, consisting of a sergeant and eight men, left Fort Steele Sunday for Green River, to report to Supt. Crossman for the purpose of taking down the telegraph line between Green River and Big Sandy, which will be shipped to this place and used for the construction of the line to Fort Washakie.”
The unpredictable autumn weather of high-altitude Wyoming cooperated that season. The construction was completed by November.
Carbon County Journal -October 28, 1880 – “The military telegraph line between Rawlins and Fort Washakie, a distance of about 135 miles, is practically completed. Captain Coats of the 4th Infantry built the line from Rawlins to the Sweetwater crossing, and Major Mason of the 3rd Cavalry constructed the line from there to the fort. All hauling by the government is now done over this route, as it is shorter and better. It seems probable that a stage line will be put on this route soon, and thus do away with the old round-about road from Green River.”
The telegraph line went directly through Myersville, but there were no telegraph stations between Rawlins and Lander. It made sense to have a station at the halfway point of the 135-mile line with a skilled trooper available to make repairs as necessary. It took a couple of years, but the government finally complied with the request from ranchers along the trail for a telegraph station.
Cheyenne Weekly Leader – May 25, 1882 – “Private H. A. Hawley, troop L, 5th Cavalry, will proceed without delay by rail and stage to Fort Washakie, W. T., and report to the commanding officer of that post for extra duty in the Quartermaster’s department as telegraph operator and repairman at Sweetwater bridge.”
It may seem extravagant to have a telegraph office in the midst of some of the most isolated ranches in America, but in the 19th century, the telegraph was an almost real-time connection to the outside world, all rolled into one series of short and long dashes.
The Myersville telegraph office had plenty of business, and in connection with the nearby post office brought the world to the Sweetwater Valley.
Rongis and Myersville were only 10 miles apart, but the Rongis post office moved a few times. It went as far south as Crooks Gap. The antics of Eli Signor’s brother John, a less than savory character at times, along with the fights and a killing at the bar had many local patrons favoring the Myersville Post Office.
An application to the US Postal Service asking to name the post office “Red Bush” was declined. The name didn’t refer to the abundance of red willows lining the river but rather to the prospective postmaster, Charles. R. Bush. He resubmitted the application with the name Myersville, named after John Myers and it was established on August 17, 1886.
The mail was a lifeline for local citizens, but a boon for business at the Myersville Store. Traffic along the road from Rawlins to Lander brought customers, and so did the route west from Casper, and south from Lost Cabin that merged at Rongis before either heading to Sout Pass or on to Fort. Brown.
Business was brisk, for two decades before technology offered a better freighting and traveling solution.
The Chicago Northwestern Railroad advanced across Natrona and Fremont Counties in 1906, reaching Lander by October. Horse-drawn wagons and coaches couldn’t compete with the iron horse.
While the railroad was still near Shoshoni, almost 50 miles from Lander the last Rawlins to Ft. Washakie stagecoach ended the era on June 30, 1906.
The change came from the US Post Office. They changed the main terminal from Rawlins on the Union Pacific to Casper on the Chicago Northwestern beginning July 1.
For 20 years the mail arrived six days a week from the south at Rongis, Myersville, and Hailey, but no longer. Mail delivery now came from the north, initially from Shoshoni, and finally from Lander just two days a week.
Wind River Mountaineer – July 6, 1906 – “A route has been put on twice a week between Dallas and Rongis, which will serve Hailey and Myersville.”
The post office at Myersville closed permanently on July 15, 1909, leaving the Sweetwater Valley with just Rongis, which was now at Crooks Gap or over Beaver Rim at Hailey. The change proved to be a good one for ranchers when mail carriers began rural delivery, leaving letters and packages in boxes along the road and eliminating the ride to the post office for all except the largest packages.
A few ne’er-do-wells made life on the route both interesting and frustrating. Robberies were rare, but pilferage and occasional missing items from wagons and coaches were common with light-fingered types picking up an occasional prize.
There was one major incident early in the history of the stagecoach route that stands out. This story made headlines in many newspapers, but the Daily Boomerang, which eventually became the Laramie Boomerang tried a little sensationalism in attempting to tie the drivers or even local law enforcement to a double holdup near Myersville. Here is their account.
JUST LIKE FINDING IT
The Ease With Which Those Two Stages Were Robbed
Held Up Without Opposition by a Cool and Polite Road Age, Who Relieved the Passengers and Rifled the Mail Sacks
The Daily Boomerang July 23, 1889 – “Mr. F. Marshall, a gentleman who just arrived in Denver from a trip to Wyoming, gives us his experience with a road agent in a recent stage holdup between Rawlins and Lander. He was traveling by stage from Rawlins to Lander in company with one other passenger and the driver. When they were about 75 or 80 miles out from Rawlins and were proceeding leisurely along the Sweetwater between 9 and 10 o’clock in the evening, at a lonely place along the road a man dressed in a long canvass coat, slouch-hat, and wearing a muffler around his neck that concealed his face up to his eyes, stepped out of the sagebrush that grew along the roadside, raised a Winchester and commanded the stage to stop.”
THE DRIVER STOPPED
“Of course, the driver promptly obeyed. The two passengers, however, had time to conceal their most valuable property. Mr. Marshall slipped a fine gold watch and chain down the inside leg of his stocking, where it was held by the top of his garter. The other passenger, in the meantime, hid $100 in bills inside the top of his boot, which was outside his pants. It left him with $2 in change in his pocket. Mr. Marshal had to give up $25, which was all the money he had on his person. He pleaded for a few dollars with which to pay for his meals, but the remorseless robber told him he was there for business and couldn’t afford to give up anything in sight.”
A POLITE HIGHWAYMAN
“Mr. Marshall believes the robber was the coolest and most deliberate villain who ever went unhung. He appears to be a college-bred chap, for he was very polite and used elegant language while keeping the passengers standing side by side, covering them with a revolver as he went through their pockets. He was a man nearly six feet tall, and rather slim.”
RIFLING THE MAIL SACK
“After he had taken his collection from the passengers, and had them comfortably seated in the coach, he then proceeded to inspect the mail sack. This he cut open, rifled through the letters, and secured about $200 from them. He then returned the letters to the sack, and the sack to the stagecoach where it belonged. He then told the driver to go on, which injunction he readily obeyed.
In about an hour they met the Lander stage on its way to Rawlins, and related the story of the incident to the driver and passengers. This stage contained as passengers, one woman, and two men. They supposed the robber would be somewhere else by the time they arrived at the place where the Rawlins coach was held up.”
AFTER THE DOWN COACH
“In this they were mistaken. He was still there and waiting for them. The same program was repeated, and the bold highwayman relieved the party of about $600, included the amount found in the mailsack. If the man had any accomplices, they did not make an appearance. Later two Indians from Lander went to the place of the robbery and tracked the fellow about halfway to Rawlins. It is thought the robber was probably a resident of that place.
The United States Paymaster was expected along about that time, and it is thought the fellow was looking for him. He was going out to pay off the troops stationed at Fort Washakie but had taken the precaution to provide himself a strong escort of colored troops from the fort before leaving for Rawlins. This, of course, blocked the robber’s game with the paymaster, so not to be entirely discomforted, he fell back on the two stages and the United States mail.”
THE DRIVERS TOO COMPLIANT
“Mr. Marshall said it looked like the stage drivers were implicated with the robber, as they were not molested and waited very patiently for him to finish his job. He goes on to say the matter is being kept very quiet, and neither the authorities at Lander nor Rawlins are making any effort to capture the fellow, His booty amounted to over $800.
At Myersville, 12 or 14 miles further on where the stage stopped to change horses, the people spoke of the affair as a trifling matter, and Mr. Marshall said they were about as indifferent at Lander and Rawlins.”
THE AMOUNT TAKEN
“THE BOOMERANG has advice to the effect that at least $1,000 was taken by this accomplished lone highwayman. He captured $800 from one package which was being sent from a Cheyenne bank to the Lander bank, it is said that the latter has dually agreed to stand good for their loss. An agent of the postal department is now at Lander looking into the robbery.
Mr. Marshall is not the only person who is surprised that the robbery attracted no more attention. The papers in that section gave very short accounts of it. At the time it occurred a telegraph repairer was out on the line which runs through that county. He was five or six miles from the scene and was soon afterward informed of the hold-up. Having an instrument with him he tapped the wire and telegraphed the particulars to Rawlins. Yet in spite of this the robber walked straight to Rawlins and made his escape. He was tracked clear to that city instead of only part way.
It is claimed that the drivers made no resistance because it might have been worth their lives to do so and no matter how much was stolen they had personally nothing to lose. It is asserted that they were not even armed.”
While the criminal element wrote the headlines, it was the actual elements, the type rolling off South Pass with a vengeance that kept John Myers busy.
The bridge at the Sweetwater was a godsend for travelers and freighters alike, but it was swept away often during the spring floods. John had the contract to keep the bridge open.
The bridge was away twice in the first four years.
Carbon County Journal – June 6, 1885 – “The warm, dry weather of the past two weeks has drawn extensive drafts on the snowbanks in the mountains, which have been cashed in with sparkling floods of clear water. The annual spring thaw in the high country has come and high water is all around us. A report reached Lander last night that the Sweetwater bridge on the stage road to Rawlins is underwater and unsafe.”
The bridge was rebuilt in the fall and early winter of 1887 and whether it was the strength of the bridge, or the luck of milder runoff, it remained intact until another flood swept it away in 1896.
The Daily Boomerang December 15, 1887 – “The Wind River Mountaineer reports the (new) county bridge across the Sweetwater River will be finished about the first of next month.”
The runoff in the spring of 1896 was substantial. It swept away the planks on the bridge, damaged a couple of pylons, and left just the two stringers exposed. As the water subsided, carriers were able to wade across the receding water with mailbags to wagons on the other side, but freight wagons were backing up like modern-day semi-trucks when Interstate 80 is closed by snowstorms.
Fremont Clipper March 27, 1896 – “The Sweetwater is on the rampage and has carried away one of the abutments to the bridge at Myersville. Mr. Brower, chairman of the Fremont County Board of Commissioners, telegraphed Mr. Gates to save the bridge if possible. The mail is being transferred at that point, and many freight teams are gathered at the river waiting for an opportunity to cross.”
Without modern heavy equipment, there wasn’t much a man and horse could do to save the bridge and three days later it was destroyed.
Wind River Mountaineer – April 1, 1896 – “Mr. A. Salmon, from Rongis, stopped off here for a few minutes this morning. He says the bridge belonging to Mr. Graham and Mr. Fletcher over the Sweetwater were washed away during the high water. This will put these gentlemen to great inconvenience, besides considerable expense in rebuilding.”
When the water receded, only the stringers remained, and one of them was unstable with a damaged pier beneath it. The stage began running halfway from Lander and Rawlins, meeting at the bridge where passengers walked across the sturdy stringer, and mail was transferred by coachmen. The freight had to wait until a few weeks later to ford the river.
John Myers and A.R. Gates repaired the bridge, but the following spring it washed out again.
This time they strung a rope across the Sweetwater, with a boat and transferred passengers and mail between the two coaches.
The Fremont County Commissioners voted to repair the bridge again, this time with a low bid of $215. It was a band-aid fix.
Finally, in 1899, the Commissioners voted to build a new, more substantial bridge.
The same contractor, A. A. Cyphert of Dallas, who repaired the old bridge, had a low bid of $465 for the new one. This was a 60-free span bridge without a center support. Ice, trees, and debris destroyed the central support on the previous bridge and this design kept the river open.
The bridge was relocated to a more suitable crossing and in the process cut the route from Rawlins by six miles.
In 1906, with the arrival of the Chicago Northwestern in Lander, the bridge no longer had the importance it had for the previous two decades.
The Myersville post office closed, and then the store. It became a family ranch operated by John’s son Albert.
Back in Kansas, Albert and his twin sister Myrtle were born on February 1, 1881. Evan taught his son how to farm on the Kansas plains but at 19, he went west with his brother John to live with their uncle John.
For two years the boys worked for the Barrus and Croft Sheep Company a few miles up the Sweetwater River from their Uncle John’s homestead. They returned to Kansas and Albert married Jennie Eliza Jacob.
The couple moved to the state of Wyoming in 1910 where Albert worked for his uncle John before opening his own homestead. A few years later in 1917, he bought the present-day Myers Ranch from Harry and Laura Fredericks. It’s been in the Myers, Thompson, and Dockery families ever since.