Before the Transcontinental Railroad connected the East and West coasts of the United States, stage coach lines transported both passengers and mail across the country. Stations along the route functioned as pit stops, where horses - tired and hungry from a 10-15 mile run - could be switched for fresh ones.
The larger ?home stations?, like Point of Rocks, were located about 50 miles apart and provided meals, lodging, wagon parts, and repairs. Between home stations were smaller wing stations? that simply provided a stop to exchange for fresh horses. From 1862 - 1868, Point of Rocks served as both a home and swing station.
When the Transcontinental Railroad reached Point of Rocks in 1868, it became an important junction where the railroad, the Overland Trail, and a north-south stage line intersected. Supplies and passengers were transferred from rail to stagecoach for the 100-mile trip north to the gold mines near South Pass.
Over time, the sod-roofed station at Point of Rocks also served as a store, schoolhouse, ranch headquarters and home before it was transferred to the State of Wyoming in 1947. The station was restored in 1974.
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