News – Sheridan Media
Yesterday was the Fourth of July. The Fourth of July has been celebrated in Wyoming since it’s early days, even before it was Wyoming, or even Wyoming Territory.
One of the first, maybe the first, Fourth of July celebration held in what is now Wyoming was in 1830, when William Sublette stopped by and celebrated the Fourth of July with his party of trappers. It is believed he named it Independence Rock.
Later, the huge monolith became an important landmark along the Oregon Trail. The granite rock, approximately 130 feet high, could be seen for miles by the wagons moving along the trail. As these emigrants stopped at the rock to rest their animals, make repairs on wagons, and take a break from the monotony of the trail, many of the travelers carved their names on the rock.
In 1840 Father Pierre-Jean De Smet described it as the Register of the Desert. According to old reports, there were several other Fourth of July celebrations near Independence Rock. At one time, Independence Rock was one of the most important sites along the Oregon Trail.
Uinta Chieftain, July 18, 1911
The Rawlins Republican, October 6, 1921 – Independence Rock Is Marked By A Tablet As Famous Landmark. Independence Rock, Wyo.. Oct. 3. — A bronze tablet bearing historical data regarding Independence Rock, the most prominent landmark on the old Oregon trail in this region, about sixty miles southwest of Casper, has been embedded in the rock by Henry D. Schoonmaker, a pioneer resident of this district.
The tablet, which measures 2 by 3 feet, has been placed about ten feet above the plain just west of a bronze tablet attached to the rock July 4,1919 by the Casper lodge of Free Masons. The Schoonmaker tablet bears the following inscription: “Independence Rock. Probably discovered by returning Astorians, 1812. Given its name by emigrants who celebrated Independence Day here July 4. 1825.
Captain Bonneville passed here with the first wagon, 1832. Whitman and Spaulding missionaries, with their wives stopped here, 1836. Father DeSmet saw it and owing to many names upon it called it the ‘Register of the Desert,” 1840. General John C. Fremont camped here with the U.S. Army, August 2, 1842. Fifty thousand emigrants passed here in1853. It is the most famous land mark on the Old Oregon Trail.”
Lander Eagle and Riverton Chronicle, August 7, 1914 – Marking the Old Oregon Trail Capt. B. F. Nickerson and Jas. Northness returned on Thursday night from a hundred-mile trip over the old Oregon Trail. They marked five places of interest on the Trail in Fremont and Carbon counties, from Independence Rock to Burnt Ranch. Yesterday they left to complete the marking of the Trail from Burnt Ranch to the Idaho line, a distance of 200 miles, part of which is over a desert 40 miles in width. Independence Rock, which was marked by Captain Nickerson with the legend, “Oregon and California, 1843-1849,” is the principle point of interest on the whole Trail, from the Missouri River to the Pacific ocean. It is a solid block of granite a mile in circumference.
On it are carved a myriad of names — starting with the names of the pathfinders in ’43 and the Argonauts in ’49 thousands of names of men and women long since dead. Markers were placed at Devil’s Gate and at St. Mary’s. Among the points to be marked by Capt. Nickerson on his trip westward from BurntRanch will be the site of old Fort Bonneville.
Founded by the Bonneville expedition in 1832. This is near the confluence of the Green and Fontanelle Rivers, a tangent from the Trail. When Capt. Nickerson finishes his labors he will have covered fully 300 miles of the Trail and devoted two months of his time.
When traveling without today’s GPS, road maps or milage signs along our routes, Independence Rock was celebrated as the approximate half-way point between Missouri and the Pacific. Travelers could take time and rejoice that the journey was half over.
The Casper Daily Tribune, May 8, 1920 (This is part of a much longer article) – The Fourth of July, 1862, there were nearly a thousand men, women and children congregated at Independence Rock, the most of whom were traveling toward the setting sun, seeking fame and fortune, but not a few of these thousand souls who were there were on their way back from the new and wild country, retracing their steps to the “settlements,” where the hardships were not so many, where hostile Indians were not to be found, and where life was more secure.
Independence Rock is in Natrona County, about forty-nine miles southwest from the City of Casper. It was the resting place for the emigrants in the early days, and it was here that all stopped for a few days to repair their wagons, rest their horses, mules and oxen, mend and wash their clothing, administer to the sick and weary, some times to bury their dead, and to do such other things that they would not do while traveling over the rough and rugged country in a “prairie schooner.”
When the travelers who were headed for the Far West, that is to say, the Oregon country, reached Independence Rock they estimated that they were halfway between Westport, or Independence, near where Kansas City is now located, and the Pacific Coast, the distance being about 2,000 miles from their starting point to their destination.
The area around Independence Rock is also reputed to be haunted. By whom, no one really knows.
Cheyenne Daily Leader, September 12, 1888 – Historic Independence Rock Said to be Haunted. It was the Scene of Many Killings in Early Days. This is hardly the season for ghost stories, but one which reached the ears of a reporter last evening may entertain those fond of spook lore.
The Leader can vouch for the reliability of all persons mentioned except the ghost itself. The narrative runs in this wise: Joe Healey, a rollicking cowboy who rides the range for the Carlisle Cattle company, was engaged in transferring a bunch of horses from one ranch on the Sweetwater to another and-passed the historical Independence rock after nightfall. When he passed the noted landmark Joe was nearly scared out of his wits and his charges almost stampeded by the appearance of a ghostly apparition across the trail. The figure was that of a man and white in color. The outlines were clearly defined but the cowboy is unable to describe the costume of the unearthly tramp.
Healey, who is a quick-witted chap of great nerve, hurried his horses to a corral about a mile distant and returned to visit the uncanny thing. The goblin damned, like the village maiden, was overmodest and kept its distance. At times it floated rapidly through the air and again locomoted steady by jerks, as the toad walks. The adventurous puncher purposed to drive the ghost into the horse herd and then rope it.
He was unsuccessful, however, but exhausted his mount and emptied his six-shooter in the attempt, and what more could be required of an honest cowboy? As is usually the case the ghost finally melted away, leaving the pursuer completely mystified. Another cowboy met with a similar adventure in the same locality last year, and every range-rider in that region swears by the Chicago market that the place is sure enough haunted.”
Independence rock was a famous landmark in the days of the Argonauts. Every 49er gazed upon the natural monument, and nearly all of them registered on the soft stone, using a knife in lieu of pen. It was here that the notorious Jack Slade, afterwards lynched at Virginia City, Nevada, had a slight misunderstanding with three men and settled all disputes by killing the trio. Slade was a tough customer, and dangerous when on the warpath.
A company of United States cavalry and a party of hostile Indians had a controversy at Independence rock one day about twenty or thirty years ago. In the course of the discussion several red men were permanently converted and a soldier so badly disabled that he died soon after. When about to mount the golden stairs this cavalryman, who was a jocose tenderfoot from Ohio, congratulated himself that he had at any rate cheated the foe out of a first class, curly-headed scalp. The writer does not pretend to be in possession of pointers on the spook business, but the apparition may be that of one of Slade’s victims, the jocose soldier or an Indian who lost his bearing in the happy hunting grounds.
Today, Wyoming Highway 220 runs right past the landmark. There is a rest area and several information signs about the trail and the large rock. Travelers can take a rest, have a picnic lunch, and stretch their legs, much like the travelers of long ago.
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Last modified: July 6, 2025