GLENDO 1812-1892

GLENDO
1812 1892
“ Historic Glendo”
By Virginia Cole Trenholm

When Robert Stuart and his Astorians plodded eastward on the icy surface of the North Platte River in 1812, they little realized that they were charting the course for the great westward migrations which were to take place in their lifetime. They were chiefly concerned with escaping from the Arapaho, who had frightened them from their winter quarters on Poison Spider Creek (near Casper).

Trappers and fur traders had established the natural roadway along the Platte before Horace Greeley made his celebrated statement: “Go West, Young Man”. With this slogan ringing in their ears, 1,000 recruits joined Marcus Whitman’s wagon train, which ultimately saved Oregon for the United States. It was without doubt the largest caravan ever to wend its way along the Platte. It followed in the wake of John Charles Fremont, “the Pathfinder”, who compiled data for the first travelaid of the West, the year before.

Of the thousands who streamed through this area, only one stayed to make a study of the native Indians. Francis Parkman’s account of the Sioux has become a classic—The Oregon Trail. Called the “Great Medicine Road of the Whites” by the Indians, the road to Oregon assumed the name Mormon Trail in 1847, during the Mormon exodus.

The farsighted Saints tarried in the Glendo area long enough to improve roads and build the first of their five mail stations joining Fort Laramie and Salt Lake at Horseshoe Creek. The definite location has never been found, but blueprints show that the settlement amounted to 160 acres (with irrigation ditches, probably the first in Wyoming) enclosed by pickets. The buildings were burned by the Mormons as they fled toward Salt Lake before Albert Sidney Johnston’s advancing Army for Utah.

During the Gold Rush days, the Emigrant Road along the Platte was called the California Trail. Indelible ruts show an ever-widening trail as excitement reached a fevered pitch. Each tried to out-distance the other in his mad race to “the Diggings.”

It was not until travel had slowed down to a more normal pace that the Overland Stage Line was established by Russell, Majors and Waddell, and the roadway became known as the Overland Trail. Stations sprang up along the route, with one of the most important at Horseshoe Creek. It was manned by the notorious Slade, who is said to have carried his adversary’s ears in his pocket after an altercation with Jules Reni.

A local legend has it that a lone New Yorker held up a stage in the Horseshoe vicinity and was forced to cache his loot ($30,000 in gold) among the rocks on the side of Sibley Peak, which overshadowed the station. Many a “prospector” has dug on the rugged slopes.

One of the most celebrated guests at the Overland Stage, Pony Express and Telegraph Station was Mark Twain, who gives an account of “Alf” Slade in Roughing It. Slade is presumed to have had a hideout on the east side of the Platte, not far from the Glendo Dam, where the “Slade Chimneys” indicate that a building may once have stood. It was here that he and his gang were presumed to have preyed upon the emigrants following the opposite branch of the trail.

Slade’s wife, Virginia, saved the Stage Station from being burned while she was living there. The Overland employees got out of hand, after burning out E.W. Whitcomb’s establishment nearby. They dumped one barrel of his liquor in the well at the station in order to have a perpetual supply and proceeded to drink the other. While in a high mood, someone suggested that they burn the Stage Station. Virginia drew a revolver and threatened to shoot the first to make a move. By the time Slade arrived, they were sober. She remained loyal to him until his death, at the hands of the vigilantes in Montana.

Buffalo Bill, while stopping at the Overland Station, made a hunting excursion up Horseshoe Creek. There he encountered a gang of horse thieves, from whom he barely escaped with his life.

After the Overland traffic was re-routed to the Cherokee Trail in Colorado, 1862, the telegraph station continued in operation. It was here that Portuguese Phillips stopped to send a message to Fort Laramie during his famous ride down the Bozeman Trail from Fort Phil Kearny in 1866. Not trusting his message alone, he rode on to “Laramie”, to gain the distinction of being Wyoming’s Paul Revere.

In 1868, Crazy Horse and about 60 Sioux warriors attacked old Horseshoe station and burned it to the ground in a three-day battle which stretched from Sibley Peak to the hills south of the Cassa Flats. The peak, where the Indians were first encountered, was called Sibley because it resembles a Sibley tent used during the Civil War. It is one of the well known landmarks along the Emigrant Trail.

Near this peak, the McDermotts operated a stage station and post office, called Bellewood, between 1887 and 1892. When the railroad was built connecting Wendover and Orin Junction, the post office was moved to the flats and was given the name Glendo, presumably from the glen at Bellewood where the crew was encamped. Upon construction of the railroad, the main street was graded, lots were sold and the new town was on the map.

Back to INDEX		GLENDO 1812 1892 “ Historic Glendo” By Virginia Cole Trenholm When Robert Stuart and his Astorians plodded eastward on the icy surface of the North Platte River in 1812, they little realized that they were charting the course for the great westward migrations which were to take place in their lifetime. They were chiefly concerned with escaping from the Arapaho, who had frightened them from their winter quarters on Poison Spider Creek (near Casper). Trappers and fur traders had established the natural roadway along the Platte before Horace Greeley made his celebrated statement: “Go West, Young Man”. With this slogan ringing in their ears, 1,000 recruits joined Marcus Whitman’s wagon train, which ultimately saved Oregon for the United States. It was without doubt the largest caravan ever to wend its way along the Platte. It followed in the wake of John Charles Fremont, “the Pathfinder”, who compiled data for the first travelaid of the West, the year before. Of the thousands who streamed through this area, only one stayed to make a study of the native Indians. Francis Parkman’s account of the Sioux has become a classic—The Oregon Trail. Called the “Great Medicine Road of the Whites” by the Indians, the road to Oregon assumed the name Mormon Trail in 1847, during the Mormon exodus. The farsighted Saints tarried in the Glendo area long enough to improve roads and build the first of their five mail stations joining Fort Laramie and Salt Lake at Horseshoe Creek. The definite location has never been found, but blueprints show that the settlement amounted to 160 acres (with irrigation ditches, probably the first in Wyoming) enclosed by pickets. The buildings were burned by the Mormons as they fled toward Salt Lake before Albert Sidney Johnston’s advancing Army for Utah. During the Gold Rush days, the Emigrant Road along the Platte was called the California Trail. Indelible ruts show an ever-widening trail as excitement reached a fevered pitch. Each tried to out-distance the other in his mad race to “the Diggings.” It was not until travel had slowed down to a more normal pace that the Overland Stage Line was established by Russell, Majors and Waddell, and the roadway became known as the Overland Trail. Stations sprang up along the route, with one of the most important at Horseshoe Creek. It was manned by the notorious Slade, who is said to have carried his adversary’s ears in his pocket after an altercation with Jules Reni. A local legend has it that a lone New Yorker held up a stage in the Horseshoe vicinity and was forced to cache his loot ($30,000 in gold) among the rocks on the side of Sibley Peak, which overshadowed the station. Many a “prospector” has dug on the rugged slopes. One of the most celebrated guests at the Overland Stage, Pony Express and Telegraph Station was Mark Twain, who gives an account of “Alf” Slade in Roughing It. Slade is presumed to have had a hideout on the east side of the Platte, not far from the Glendo Dam, where the “Slade Chimneys” indicate that a building may once have stood. It was here that he and his gang were presumed to have preyed upon the emigrants following the opposite branch of the trail. Slade’s wife, Virginia, saved the Stage Station from being burned while she was living there. The Overland employees got out of hand, after burning out E.W. Whitcomb’s establishment nearby. They dumped one barrel of his liquor in the well at the station in order to have a perpetual supply and proceeded to drink the other. While in a high mood, someone suggested that they burn the Stage Station. Virginia drew a revolver and threatened to shoot the first to make a move. By the time Slade arrived, they were sober. She remained loyal to him until his death, at the hands of the vigilantes in Montana. Buffalo Bill, while stopping at the Overland Station, made a hunting excursion up Horseshoe Creek. There he encountered a gang of horse thieves, from whom he barely escaped with his life. After the Overland traffic was re-routed to the Cherokee Trail in Colorado, 1862, the telegraph station continued in operation. It was here that Portuguese Phillips stopped to send a message to Fort Laramie during his famous ride down the Bozeman Trail from Fort Phil Kearny in 1866. Not trusting his message alone, he rode on to “Laramie”, to gain the distinction of being Wyoming’s Paul Revere. In 1868, Crazy Horse and about 60 Sioux warriors attacked old Horseshoe station and burned it to the ground in a three-day battle which stretched from Sibley Peak to the hills south of the Cassa Flats. The peak, where the Indians were first encountered, was called Sibley because it resembles a Sibley tent used during the Civil War. It is one of the well known landmarks along the Emigrant Trail. Near this peak, the McDermotts operated a stage station and post office, called Bellewood, between 1887 and 1892. When the railroad was built connecting Wendover and Orin Junction, the post office was moved to the flats and was given the name Glendo, presumably from the glen at Bellewood where the crew was encamped. Upon construction of the railroad, the main street was graded, lots were sold and the new town was on the map. Back to Top