Absolutely! Here’s a rewrite of the article in a more casual style, aiming for around 1200 words.
Fort Supply, Wyoming: A Pioneer Ghost Town with a Story to Tell
Alright, history buffs and curious wanderers, let’s take a trip back in time to a place called Fort Supply, Wyoming. Now, don’t go packing your bags expecting to see a bustling town. Today, Fort Supply is more of a memory, a whisper in the wind. But oh, what a story it has to tell!
A Little Bit of Background: The Wild West Setting
First, picture this: It’s the mid-1800s. The American West is still pretty wild, and folks are heading out there for all sorts of reasons – adventure, land, religious freedom, you name it. This part of Wyoming was once part of the Utah Territory and a popular spot for Native American tribes and those rugged mountain men.
Two of those mountain men, Jim Bridger and his partner Louis Vasquez, decided to set up shop with Fort Bridger as a trading post. It was a great spot to swap goods with trappers and Native Americans.
Enter the Mormons: A New Kind of Pioneer
Fast forward a few years, and a group of Mormon pioneers, led by Brigham Young, roll into the region and establish Salt Lake City. Suddenly, Fort Bridger is looking a little less important. Salt Lake City becomes the main hub.
Now, the Utah Territorial legislature passes a law giving the Mormons control over the ferries that crossed the Green River near Bridger Valley. Previously, these ferries were operated by mountain men who were not happy about relinquishing control. As Salt Lake City grew, Fort Bridger’s trading business began to decline. This led to conflict between the groups, with Mormons claiming that the mountain men were trying to incite the local natives against them.
Trouble Brewing: Tensions Rise
Things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows between the Mormons and the Native Americans either. By 1853, tensions with the Ute Indians had escalated, sparking the Walker War. As a result, trade with Native Americans in the Utah Territory was outlawed, including in the Bridger Valley.
Of course, some folks at Fort Bridger kept trading on the sly. In response, Sheriff James Ferguson and 150 men were sent to shut it down. Jim Bridger got wind of it and skedaddled. But the sheriff’s posse found his stash of whiskey and rum and destroyed it. After that, they continued to the Green River, where they engaged the mountain men who had been unlawfully running ferries, killing some and seizing their livestock.
The Birth of Fort Supply: A Mormon Outpost
Brigham Young, the big cheese of the Mormon church, had an idea. What if they built their own fort in the area? It would solidify their influence, provide a place for Mormon travelers to restock, and maybe even make things a little easier on the supply lines from Salt Lake City to Fort Bridger.
So, in 1853, the "Green River Mission" was born, and a bunch of young Mormon men were called up to build a fort in the Bridger Valley. They were led by John Nebeker and Isaac Bullock.
The first crew arrived in November 1853 and got right to work. They picked a spot and started building a blockhouse with four log wings. The idea was to have a central room that was two stories high, so a guard could keep watch.
Winter Blues and Shoshone Lessons
Once the blockhouse was finished, winter set in, and there wasn’t much else they could do. The missionaries spent the winter trying to survive off of supplies from Salt Lake City and learning the Shoshone language from a mountain man named Elijah B. Ward, who had converted to Mormonism, and his wife, Sally. They didn’t make much progress with the Shoshone and failed to convert any.
When spring rolled around, the missionaries planted crops and continued work on the fort. In fact, they introduced irrigation to the area, making Fort Supply the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in what would become Wyoming.
Struggles and Setbacks: Not Always a Smooth Ride
From the get-go, Fort Supply faced its share of challenges. Some of the missionaries got homesick and started sneaking back to Salt Lake City without permission. By July 1854, most of them had left, except for a few die-hards who stayed behind to harvest the crops.
And wouldn’t you know it, Mother Nature threw them another curveball. An early frost in September wiped out half of their wheat crop. Plus, the local Native Americans kept asking for food and supplies. Brigham Young had always said it was cheaper to feed them than to fight them, so the settlers shared what little they had.
Round Two: A Fresh Start
But the Mormons weren’t quitters. In 1855, they sent a new batch of missionaries to reoccupy Fort Supply, led by James S. Brown. They fixed up the fort, planted more crops, and even had some success converting the Shoshone.
Unfortunately, that September frost struck again, ruining most of the unharvested crops. Food was tight that winter. On the bright side, the church bought Fort Bridger that year, putting Lewis Robinson in charge.
Building a Community: More Than Just a Fort
In 1856, the Mormon leadership decided to beef up Fort Supply by sending 43 families from other settlements to join the missionaries. By April, the fort had grown into a ten-acre complex with 25 homes, a two-story courthouse, corrals, and fields. They also sent supplies from Fort Supply to help the Martin and Willie handcart companies.
Around this time, they started planning a city called "Supply City" about three miles north of the fort. By the end of the summer of 1857, they had built about 15 homes.
The Utah War: The End of the Line
Just when things were starting to look up, trouble came knocking. The U.S. government, under President James Buchanan, got into a dispute with the Mormons, leading to the Utah War in 1857. They sent General Albert Sidney Johnston and 2,500 troops to replace Brigham Young as governor of the territory.
Young declared martial law and ordered his people to prevent the federal troops from getting any closer than Fort Bridger and Fort Supply. So, the families and missionaries at Fort Supply and Supply City were evacuated. The Utah militia was instructed to burn anything the army could use.
As the U.S. forces approached, the Mormons torched Fort Bridger and Fort Supply. According to Mormon convert Jesse W. Crosby, there were over 100 log houses, a sawmill, a gristmill, and a thrashing machine that were burned.
Aftermath: A Ghost Town is Born
When the Utah War ended, some settlers wanted to go back to Fort Supply and Supply City. But the land had become part of the military reserve. The U.S. Secretary of War said no way. The Mormons didn’t return to the valley until the 1890s, when the military reserve was dissolved and the land was opened for homesteading. They settled in present-day Lyman, Wyoming.
Remembering the Pioneers: A Monument to the Past
As part of Wyoming’s golden anniversary of statehood in 1937, they built a monument near the original location of Fort Supply. It’s a tribute to those early pioneers who braved the wilderness and tried to build a life in this remote corner of the West.
You can still visit the monument today, located near Robertson, Wyoming. It’s a reminder of a time when life was tough, dreams were big, and the West was still being won.
So, the next time you’re driving through Wyoming, take a detour and pay your respects to the pioneers of Fort Supply. It’s a place that may be gone, but its story lives on.