Jack Jeffers - FROM THE WYOMING OUTBACK ©2001

EARLY SETTLERS GRAVE SITE NEAR SOUTH PASS CITY, WY

When Henry Reedall struck pay dirt in 1867, one of the most god-forsaken areas in the country suddenly sprang into a boomtown. The mere mention of the word gold did crazy things to people and hordes of outsiders descended on South Pass from the nearby Oregon Trail. They all had dreams of getting rich quick, but only a few of the lucky ones were successful.

It only took three years for the town to go from boom to bust. South Pass City became a ghost town almost overnight.

One noteworthy historical fact emerged from this rough and ready frontier town. A saloonkeeper by the name of William Bright wrote and introduced a woman’s suffrage bill. The bill passed and the Governor signed it into history in December 1869. Wyoming became the first territory to allow women to vote and hold office. Esther Morris, a resident of South Pass City, was appointed justice of the peace in February 1870 making her the nation’s first female judge. She tried twenty-six cases.

There are still a few die-hard miners and prospectors who are either panning or digging for the illusive mother lode that always lay just beyond their grasp. Just like the ghosts that reportedly inhabit old South Pass City, the yellow gold is also lurking in some remote draw or beyond the next butte.
GRAVE SITE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SOUTH PASS CITY

A notation on the head stones reads:
In memory of Earnest Williams
Born in California 1901
Died in Atlantic City 1905
Son of EJ & AP Williams

Ma Belr
Born Tuscarora, NV September 1880
Died November 9,1899
Daughter of AP & EJ Williams

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