Site of Fort Thompson or Camp Magraw - Lander, Wyoming
Posted by: 
Tom.dog
N 42° 51.103 W 108° 41.766
12T E 688241 N 4746922
This marker, located on the northwest side of State Highway 789, describes the history of the U.S. settlement of the Lander region.
Waymark Code: WM18MTA
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2023
Views: 0
The text on the sign reads:
SITE OF FORT THOMPSON OR CAMP MAGRAW
In 1856 the United States Congress appropriated money to build the central division of the Fort Kearney-South Pass-Honey Lake Wagon Road from Nebraska to California. W.M.F. Magraw was appointed superintendent by the Secretary of the Interior. He was later removed for mismanagement and replaced by W.F. Lander, who staked a new route known as the Lander Cutoff from Gilbert Station, or Burnt Ranch, to City Rocks, Idaho. Winter of 1857-58 overtook the workers at St. Mary's Station on the Oregon Trail. Frank Lowe, guide, led them to this location for winter quarters, officially named Fort Thompson, in honor of the incumbent U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Old timers called it Camp Magraw. The settlement above here, first known as Push Root, was renamed Lander by Lowe, in honor of his friend.
Marker Name: Site of Fort Thompson or Camp Magraw
Marker Type: Rural Roadside
Group Responsible for Placement: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department and the Wyoming State Historical Society
Date Dedicated: 1965
Marker Number: Not Listed
Web link(s) for additional information: [Web Link]
Addtional Information: Not listed
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