Independence Rock Emigrant Cache Oregon Trail — Natrona County

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Independence Rock Emigrant Cache Oregon Trail — Natrona County

Lost Treasure WY • Natrona County County
Description
Sweetwater River legend of emigrant valuables buried near Independence Rock — the "Great Register" where pioneers carved names before crossing the Continental Divide at South Pass.
Historical Notes
Independence Rock rises 128 feet along the Sweetwater River; more than 5,000 emigrants left names in stone or wagon grease. J. Goldsborough Bruff scratched his signature on July 26, 1849, while guiding a Washington City Company wagon train. Emigrants raced to reach the rock by Independence Day to stay ahead of mountain snows. Trail folklore imagines money belts and strongboxes buried when cholera deaths, lighten-the-wagon orders, or Sioux alarms forced hasty camps. Coordinates mark Independence Rock State Historic Site on Wyoming Highway 220. Wyoming State Parks property — legend only.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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