Overland Stagecoach Station Barn - Point of Rocks, WY - Barns on Waymarking.com

This is the ruins of the Almond Stage Station barn, a stop along the Overland Stagecoach line and the Pony Express. It and the station can be found just off of I-80 at Point of Rocks, Wyoming. The town consists of little more than a gas station, a convenience store, and about 10 people.

The station and its barn were built in 1861 when the stagecoach line was moved south due to ambushes by local Native Americans. It was also used by the Pony Express and as a stopping point for wagon trains following the Overland or Cherokee Trail. The station has been restored, however the ruins of the barn were left as they were, other than adding some concrete in areas to stabilize the walls. The two structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Adjacent to the station you can still see faint ruts from the Overland/Cherokee Trail (see photo in gallery) and up on the hill you'll find a tiny little cemetery. Supposedly the victims of an ambushed stagecoach are buried there.

This interesting quote from the American Guide book, "The Oregon Trail: From the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean" gives a good feel for the countryside.

Beadle wrote of the region: 'For sixty miles on Bitter Creek, Wyoming, the soil is a mass of clay, or sand, and alkali - a horrible and irreclaimable desert which has made the place a byword...On the stage routes across such tracts the animals labor through a cloud of dust and the coach drags heavily, the wheels often causing a disagreeable cry in the sand and soda, while the passengers endure as best they can the irritation to eye and nostril, and the slime formed upon the person by dust and sweat. This penetrating alkaline dust sifts in at the smallest crevice, and even the clothing in a close valise is often covered with it.'

There are no restrooms at the area - just several historic markers, a geocache and the wide open west.

Construction: Stone Is this a 'working' barn?: Abandoned (empty) Other: Originally a "stable", but now just ruins. Distinctive Features: Other (describe below) Other Distinctive Features: Distinctive due to its interesting history. Rating - Please Rate this Barn:

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/08/2011 eagsc7 visited it 03/15/2008 Hikenutty visited it

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