Mormon Ferry, Probable First Site

Monument commemorating the site of the first probable crossing of the North Platte river by the Mormon Ferry.

Location: The historical marker commemorating the first Mormon Ferry was erected by the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmark Association in 1932 and is located in Mills at Memorial Park. The park lies on the east side of Wyoming Boulevard and Highway 20-26. The actual ferry location was about one-half mile south of the marker. There is also a replica of a ferry on the grounds at Fort Caspar.

Wagon

History: Brigham Young's pioneer Mormon party established the first commercial ferry on the North Platte River in early June 1847. An advance party experimented with a "revenue cutter," a large leather boat with wheels that could carry up to 1800 pounds of cargo. Brigham Young arrived on June 12 with the rest of his 72-wagon company; provisions were taken across the river in the leather boat, and the empty wagons were ferried across. When only 23 wagons were safely on the other side of the river by the end of the day, Young realized the need for a better system and commissioned some of his men to construct a larger ferryboat.

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Stop 1 Oregon Trail Burial - Quintina Snoderly · Stop 2 Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park · Stop 3 Richard's (Reshaw's) Bridge and Trading Post · Stop 4 Mormon Ferry, Probable Second Site · Stop 5 Mormon Ferry, Probable First Site · Stop 6 Fort Caspar · Stop 7 Battle of Red Buttes · Stop 8 Bessemer Bend/Red Buttes Crossing · Stop 9 Emigrant Gap · Stop 10 Avenue of Rocks/Devil's Backbone/Clayton's Slough · Stop 11 Willow Springs · Stop 12 Prospect Hill/Ryan Hill · Stop 13 Horse Creek (Greasewood) · Stop 14 Saleratus (Playa) Lake/Sweetwater Pony Express Station · Stop 15 Independence Rock · Stop 16 Devil's Gate · Stop 17 Martin's Cove · Stop 18 Split Rock

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