The Smith Sherlock General Store is operated by the Friends of South Pass, a non-profit organization that supports programs at SPC. Revenue from store sales help us make tours like yours possible. Without those sales, SPC would not be able to provide this programming. South Pass City was born in the summer of 1867. Unlike hundreds of other Western boom towns, this one endures to the present day. A rare blend of hard work, circumstance, & foresight has resulted in one of the best preserved towns & gold mills in the West. Rumors of earlier gold discoveries along the Sweetwater River date to the 1840s, but the promise of greater reward involving less risk had led gold seekers to focus elsewhere. Beginning in the 1860s, scattered handfuls of frontier military personnel were assigned to protect telegraph lines, Pony Express stations, & emigrant trails in the South Pass area. The first sizable gold excitement in the South Pass region took place when a party of men out of Fort Bridger located the Cariso Lode (later called the Carissa) in June 1867. The local region hosted the Shoshonie & the California Mining Districts. The first boom only lasted a couple of seasons, but helped establish mining as the foundation for Wyoming’s economy. The initial gold rush was followed quickly by a prolonged bust as eager miners & investors were rudely acquainted with the realities of profitably working the Sweetwater Mines. Many early boomers instead sought their fortunes through agriculture on the tracts of nearby public land open to homesteading. Others saw opportunity as merchants, professionals, & government workers. Always though, there were those committed to a belief in the future of the mines. Their fidelity was rewarded as cycles of national prosperity & optimism resulted in the periodic revival of dormant mine properties. Local men obtained regular work, support industries like timber cutting & freighting surged, & the anticipation of lasting good times ahead convinced even discouraged old timers to hold on a bit longer.
