Wild Times In Benton!

Wild Times In Benton! (HM1OTE)

Location: Sinclair, WY 82334 Carbon County
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Country: United States of America
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N 41° 46.703', W 106° 56.872'

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Inscription

For the Railroad and Town

In 1868 the Union Pacific Railroad was rapidly moving west with the short lived railhead towns leading the way. In early July, General Dodge ordered the citizens of Brownsville to move three miles from the river to the edge of the Dry Desert. This was to become the town of Benton. With the move came all the amenities of a railroad town including the "Big Tent" which has seen service in Julesburg, Cheyenne, and Laramie. It was 100 feet long and forty feet wide, housing a bar with every variety of liquors and cigars, cut glass, mirrors, and wall pictures of eastern cities. At the back of the tent was a band stand and room for tables devoted to monte, faro, fortune wheels and other games of chance.

As with these types of towns commodities were expensive and life was cheap. Water cost 10 cents a bucket, but whiskey cost only 25 cents a glass. Therefore water was used only for cooking and cleaning. The housing prospects amounted to tents and plank shacks. The streets were ankle deep in alkali dust with no grass, brush or trees. Death and murder was a daily occurrence and in its short 60 day existence the cemetery's population rose to nearly 100 unfortunate sinners calling Benton home.
Details
HM NumberHM1OTE
Series This marker is part of the Transcontinental Railroad series
Tags
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Placed ByWyoming Recreation Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 24th, 2015 at 5:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13T E 338120 N 4627004
Decimal Degrees41.77838333, -106.94786667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 41° 46.703', W 106° 56.872'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds41° 46' 42.18" N, 106° 56' 52.32" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)307
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Co Rd 347, Sinclair WY 82334, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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