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Where can I find these exhibits?
Register Cliff
Riding Into Legend
Lucindy Rollins Grave
(720 W Sybille St, Guernsey, WY 82214)
Many Hasty Burials
More than a Man and His Mule
Register Cliff vicinity
- In the Path of History
Camp Guernsey Military Property
Must contact the military property to view these exhibits
Mission Impassable
Westward Ho
History at your Doorstep
Hope on the Horizon
In the Footsteps of History
Guernsey Area Places to Visit
Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site
Location of historic trail ruts that are five feet deep.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
An icon of the American West & National Historic Site.
Soft, chalky limestone rock made it easy for emigrants to inscribe their names into the cliff at this site.
Register Cliff vicinity: In the Path of History Exhibit Audio Description
Register Cliff vicinity: In the Path of History Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
363 words.
This panel sits just off the northeast corner of a large gravel parking area at the South MPMG Range. The landscape of rocky hills depicted on the panel stretches out behind.
The panel features a detailed illustration of covered wagons moving left to right across a landscape of rolling hills and rocky outcroppings. The jumbled group of oxen and mule-drawn wagons trudge along a dusty trail, accompanied by men on foot, before vanishing into a pass between rocky hills. A black dog runs alongside its master. In the foreground, two men with muskets stand among sagebrush, hunting grouse. A male and female sage grouse fly across the sky in the upper right of the panel.
The text reads “Historic wagon ruts and swales mark this landscape, making it possible to envision wagon trains journeying westward through the grassy hills. Some travelers sought land in Oregon, many sought gold in California, while others pursued a place to settle and practice their religion in peace. All longed for the safest, fastest route to their distant destinations.
Historic Preservation
Help preserve the remnants of the emigrant trails by keeping off marked areas that designate ruts and swales. Nearby Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff State Historic Sites are excellent places to observe and experience the history written on this landscape.
Keeping Meat on the Menu
To refresh provisions, travelers hunted bison, pronghorn, elk, deer, bear, wild turkey, and sage grouse. Butchering bison and other large animals while on the trail was difficult. Hunters had neither the time nor the equipment to do it well. While usable meat was collected, there was a great deal of waste “left for the birds.”
The lower left features a photograph of deep wagon ruts carved in stone. Its caption reads, “As thousands of wagons rolled across soft sandstone, they wore deep ruts still observable today.”
The lower right features images of the two markers used to indicate the presence of historic remnants. Their caption reads: “These two styles of markers indicate historically significant areas. Please leave them undisturbed.”
In the lower right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit:go.nps.gov/PathofHistory”
End of Description.
Register Cliff: Riding Into Legend Exhibit Audio Description
Register Cliff: Riding Into Legend Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
539 words.
This panel sits diagonally off the concrete pathway that extends from the southwest corner of the Register Cliffs State Historic Area parking lot. This angle allows the viewer to look up from the panel across an open field to a small white Pony Express monument some 250 meters to the northwest. A streamside corridor of cottonwoods and Russian olives appears behind the small white monument.
The panel features an illustration of a Pony Express rider transferring the lightweight leather saddle cover containing mail to the horse of another rider. Two slender young men both have hold of the mochila saddlebag as they position it over the new rider’s saddle. The spent horse of the first rider appears prominently in the foreground. In the background, a weathered, grey relay station sits in an open prairie of dried grasses. The text reads: “Before 1860, it took about three weeks for mail to reach California. The Pony Express cut that time in half. Its riders used hundreds of swift horses and a series of almost 200 stations to carry letters from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco, California—a distance of roughly 2,000 miles. Despite support from investors, government subsidies, and contracts, the Pony Express never achieved financial success. Within just 18 months, telegraph coverage rendered it obsolete. During their brief careers, Pony Express riders became celebrities, and their feats soon passed into the realm of legend and tall tales. Created as the “Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company” by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell, the privately owned mail company grew in fame as William Cody’s popular traveling show “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” helped make the Pony Express an enduring symbol of the era.
Horse and Rider
The breakneck pace of delivery took a heavy toll on both horse and rider. Young riders braved conflicts, blistering desert heat, and blizzards. They each rode 75–100 miles per shift, pressing forward day and night at 10 miles per hour. Riders switched tired horses at relay stations every 10–15 miles, but they didn’t stop to rest until their routes were run.”
The lower left of the panel features a photograph of the riverside Pony Express monument. A caption reads: “In the distance, along the river side of the gravel road, a monument pays tribute to the riders of the Pony Express and the “Centre Star” station that once stood near this location. The famous route ran through this valley along the North Platte River.”
In the upper right, a historic portrait depicts a very young-looking Pony Express rider wearing a cowboy hat and rugged western attire. The caption reads: “Riders had to weigh less than 120 pounds and carry 20 pounds of mail. Each took an oath to avoid profane language, drinking, and fighting.”
Below the portrait of a young rider, a photograph shows William Cody in his “Wild West” show attire. The caption reads: “William Cody claimed to be a Pony Express rider at age 14, though most historians doubt his story. His show featured a mock Pony Express relay demonstrating how racing riders would switch mailbags from saddle to saddle.”
In the lower right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit: go.nps.gov/RidingIntoLegend”
End of Description.
Lucindy Rollins Grave: Many Hasty Burials Exhibit Audio Description
Lucindy Rollins Grave: Many Hasty Burials Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
383 Words.
This panel sits just off the riverside trail to the north. Facing the panel, a gentle grassy slope extends upwards, culminating in the Lucindy Rollins Memorial. The memorial appears as a white obelisk, approximately 8 ft tall, on top of the small hill.
An illustration depicting a twilight burial stretches across the panel background. Four men, three of them with horses, and one woman stand behind a freshly-dug grave marked with an asymmetrical, makeshift headstone. Another man kneels to the right of the gathering, accompanied by two long-haired dogs. A priest stands in the middle of the group reading from a small book. The figures all have their heads down and wear somber expressions. A broken wagon wheel in the lower right hints at past tragedy along the emigration route. A red-tailed hawk soars above the scene, backlit by a dim yellow sunset.
The text reads:
“Death was a dark and constant companion on emigrant trails in the 1800s. Historians estimate that some 20-30,000 travelers perished in search of a better life. Disease and accidents—like being crushed under wagon wheels or drowning in river crossings—caused most emigrant deaths.
Most graves went unmarked. Burials were often right on the trail where loose dirt cast hastily upon them would be compacted by wagon wheels. Pioneers avoided marking graves for fear that they would be robbed or disturbed. It was a painful way to part with loved ones.
Emigrant Grave
Lucindy Rollins was from Dayton, Ohio and died in 1849. Little is known of this emigrant woman’s life or including how she died on the dusty voyage westward. A small scattering of emigrant graves are preserved with markers across Camp Guernsey’s training areas.
The Curse of Cholera
Unsanitary water and food at crowded camps led to the spread of bacteria causing cholera. Marked by severe diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration, the intestinal disease brought quick and painful death to thousands on the emigrant trails.”
The lower left features the following quote:
“Oh, 'tis a hard thing to die far from friends and home—to be buried in a hastily dug grave without shroud or coffin—the clods filled in and then deserted, perhaps to be food for wolves..." Esther McMillan Hanna, 1852
In the lower right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit:go.nps.gov/ManyHastyBurials”
End of Description.
Lucindy Rollins Grave: More than a Man and His Mule Exhibit Audio Description
Lucindy Rollins Grave: More than a Man and His Mule Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
412 words.
Placed south of the riverside walk, this panel overlooks a landscape of low hills marked by three historic swales. This landscape is depicted in the expansive illustration that sweeps the length of the panel. The complex illustration features three wagon trains advancing across the landscape with various people walking, scattered beside the advancing wagon columns. On the left, a large flock of sheep is herded by an Australian Shepherd dog. Several single men guide their laden mules forward while families guide young children through the green prairie grasses. The text reads: “Discovery of gold in 1848 greatly increased California Trail travel, creating the classic image of the “49er”—a scruffy white man leading a mule laden with gear through mountain passes to the California goldfields. While the mass migration was dominated by Euro American men, travelers came from a variety of backgrounds. Women from every class of society also undertook the arduous journey. They often managed provisions, food preparation, and overall cleanliness. Women also took on traditionally male roles such as driving mules and oxen.
History on the Landscape
Wagon ruts and grassy swales still show the exact location of the passing wagons and livestock as the varied assembly of emigrants crossed through the fields and hills in front of you.”
In the lower left foreground, a rugged and determined African-American man leads his wife and child forward toward their Western destiny. The woman’s face is beautiful but worn with care and concern as she glances off to her right. The illustration is accompanied by the following caption: “Thousands of African Americans traveled to California during the Gold Rush era in search of freedom and prosperity. The majority were free men and women, but at least 300 were enslaved people brought by their enslavers to work in the goldfields. Despite racist laws and racist attitudes, Black and White miners often worked side-by-side.”
The lower right foreground depicts male and female soldiers from a wide variety of backgrounds. An American flag appears behind the troops. A caption reads: “Today people from many races, religions, and backgrounds from across the nation, and many branches of the armed forces, meet at Camp Guernsey for training.”
In the lower right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit:go.nps.gov/ManAndHisMule”
End of Description.
Camp Guernsey Military Property Exhibits
The following exhibits are located on U.S. military property. Please contact the site directly in order to inquire about visiting.
Camp Guernsey Military Property: History at your Doorstep Exhibit Audio Description
Camp Guernsey Military Property: History at your Doorstep Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
History at Your Doorstep. 562 words.
This upright panel is mounted to the right side of the new barracks' main entrance. The main text reads: “The braided paths of the northern overland trails converge near the modern town of Guernsey. The Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express national historic trails all follow this stretch of the North Platte River before branching out across the western states. Explore a landscape marked by deep wagon ruts and the historic inscriptions of overland travelers who memorialized their journeys in stone.”
Three spot illustrations dominate the upper two-thirds of the panel. Below the lead text is an illustration of a colorful blue and red wagon emblazoned with the words “Root little piggy or die.” Behind the wagon, a large illustration of a checklist outlines the provisions intended to be stored therein. The caption “Powered by Bacon” reads: “Each wagon’s grocery list for a five-month journey totaled about $85, a tidy sum at a time when workers earned roughly $1/day. The costliest item: $36 for 725 pounds of bacon. Many emigrants customized their wagons for the journey. Some built false bottoms to store surplus supplies and valuables. Overlanders often painted their wagons bright colors and sometimes wrote slogans or messages on the wagon covers.”
The circular illustration in the upper right shows a night scene of an elderly woman stirring a pot above a buffalo dung campfire. Two young boys stand to the right with a large two-handled basket of buffalo chips. One of the helpful boys holds out a buffalo chip to add to the fire. The caption reads: “For travelers on the plains, dried bison dung, or “buffalo chips,” served as fuel for cookfires. During the day, women and children collected large quantities of dried chips needed to cook the evening meal.”
Just below, another circular illustration depicts a river crossing from the perspective of a wagon driver. The driver’s boots are propped up as we peer out through the wagon cover at the rear ends of the oxen team and other wagons fording the stream. The caption reads: “River crossings were difficult and dangerous. Some fords were shallow enough to drive teams across, while others required expensive ferry crossings, often after days of waiting.”
The bottom third of the panel features an illustration of two emigrants pushing the back of a covered wagon as it passes through a deeply chiseled rocky passage. The effort of the man and woman is evident from their strained positions as they struggle to advance the heavily laden wagon. An additional wagon and associated riders are visible in the distance. A caption reads: “Emigrants mostly walked the 2,000 miles to their western destinations. Wagons held belongings and provisions, and any extra weight further strained the animals pulling them. Sometimes travelers helped hoist the wagons up hills and through tough spots in the trail.”
Circular photographs of two historical markers appear in the lower right, overlapping the illustration. The caption “Protecting Our History” reads: “These two types of markers are used in and around Camp Guernsey to indicate the presence of historic features. These include swales, which are ditch-like depressions from old wagon routes, and deep wheel ruts, evidence of iron-rimmed wheels cutting into the stone. Please leave these areas undisturbed.”
On the right central, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit: go.nps.gov/HistoryAtYourDoorstep”
End of Description.
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Westward Ho Exhibit Audio Description
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Westward Ho Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
558 words.
This upright panel is wall-mounted in the General Instruction Building (GIB) Cultural Resources Room.
The upper two-thirds of the panel features a map of the western United States with color outlines of the four national historic trails that run through the area. Circular illustrations representing the Oregon National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National Historic Trail, and the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail surround the map.
The main text reads: “Four famous pathways of western migration converge in this valley, ready for you to explore. The North Platte River corridor has been used by travelers for thousands of years. Native Americans, fur trappers, mountain men, and missionaries used the route before newspapers, guidebooks, and letters made it famous in the mid-1800s. The river guided their way and provided essential water in an arid landscape. Nearby, Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff state historic sites and Fort Laramie National Historic Site offer glimpses of the historic past.”
In the upper right, a complex illustration depicts two parked wagons with a family gathered for a meal at a makeshift table. A woman serves a seated man while three laughing children play to his right. One of the covered wagons is emblazoned with the words “Oregon or Bust.” Three black oxen graze between the parked wagons. A caption below reads: “In search of a better life and incentivized by the federal government, over 65,000 travelers emigrated west between 1840 and 1860 on a 2,000-mile journey that ended in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. There, emigrants claimed and settled on lands that Native Americans had occupied for thousands of years.”
In the middle left, an illustration depicts a Pony Express rider galloping away from a relay station at breakneck speed. The caption reads: “When it launched in April 1860, the legendary mail route between St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco, California, created an immediate sensation. It remains an enduring symbol of the American West despite operating for just over 18 months. In the years that followed, the swift riders of the Pony Express became legends.”
The middle right features an illustration of a cattle skull emblazoned with a hand-etched message from Brigham Young. The caption reads: “On March 1, 1846, about 500 wagons moved westward across a winter prairie, fleeing the tension and violence the Mormon emigrants had experienced in Nauvoo, Illinois. The travelers marked their route by writing messages on bison skulls, leaving these “Bulletins of the Plains” for the wagon trains that followed.”
The bottom third of the panel is filled with a complex and detailed illustration depicting travelers on the California National Historic Trail. On the bottom left, a bearded and grizzled prospector leads his heavily laden mule. The midground features a prominent covered wagon pulled by a team of four white-splotched oxen, accompanied by several men walking beside them. The wagon train curves backward from here, revealing six more wagons and attendant travelers, all partially obscured by the clouds of dust raised by their heavy footfalls. A caption reads: “Beginning in December 1848, as news spread of the discovery at Sutter’s Mill, goldseekers began flocking to California from across the world. By the next spring, tens of thousands of “49ers” had reached the goldfields, hoping to strike it rich.”
On the central right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit: go.nps.gov/WestwardHo”
End of Description.
Camp Guernsey Military Property: In the Footsteps of History Exhibit Audio Description
Camp Guernsey Military Property: In the Footsteps of History Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Date created:
01/13/2026
585 words.
This large, upright panel stands just to the left of the concrete entryway of the General Instruction Building.
The main text reads: “Welcome to Camp Guernsey! Limestone ridges rise above flowering prairies as the landscape transitions from open plains to Rocky Mountain foothills. Here, the historic routes of westward-bound settlers, goldseekers, couriers, and refugees converge, forming the Great Platte River Road. The traces of their passage are easily observed by modern visitors. The trail corridor passes through today’s Camp Guernsey, a modern combat training facility established by the Wyoming Military Department in 1938. Guernsey provides an excellent hub to experience the scenery, rich history, and recreational opportunities this area has to offer.”
The panel background includes a local map featuring the braided lines of all four National Historic Trails that pass through the Guernsey area. The many-branching California Trail illustrates how travelers used a variety of paths even as they followed the same general route. Large purple dots highlight the local points of interest.
The panel's upper left includes two photographs depicting Guernsey State Park. The first shows a rugged, arid landscape of hills and cliffs plunging dramatically into a glassy reservoir. The second features the impressive boulder construction of the Guernsey Museum's front entrance. The caption reads: “Guernsey State Park features an inviting reservoir surrounded by dramatic cliffs. The Guernsey Museum and the Castle showcase some of the finest examples of 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps construction in the Rocky Mountain area.”
Below this, an Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site photograph shows a set of foot-deep ruts carved into solid sandstone. Evening light casts dark shadows in the deep furrows and casts a warm hue across the rugged, rocky landscape dotted with juniper trees. A caption reads: Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site, commonly called “the Guernsey Ruts,” highlights dramatic remnants of our national historic trails. As emigrants on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails passed from gentle river bottomland to rugged and rocky landscapes, they funneled by the thousands across soft sandstone, carving deep ruts into the landscape—five feet deep in some places!”
To the right, a Register Cliff State Historic Site photograph shows settlers' names and dates carved into the rusty-red rock of the site’s limestone cliff. The caption reads: “Register Cliff State Historic Site shows history written in stone. A day’s journey from Fort Laramie, settlers camped by the chalky limestone cliff and recorded their names for the ages. The tradition of historic graffiti along the trail started with 1820s trappers and reached its peak with the push of westward migration in the 1840s and 1850s.”
Further to the right, a photograph of Fort Laramie National Historic Site depicts a covered wagon complete with oxen yoke in front of the historic infantry barracks. A caption reads: “Fort Laramie National Historic Site preserves the largest and one of the best-known military posts on the Northern Plains. The fort served as a hub of regional trading, rest, and resupply that represented completion of the first third of the journey from Missouri to the western territories.”
The lower third of the panel is dominated by a low-angle depiction of a wagon train that puts the viewer at ground level among abundant prairie wildflowers. Two prominent oxen with long, curving horns dominate the foreground as a settler drives his team onward. The rest of the wagon train snakes back into the distance.
On the central right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit: go.nps.gov/FootstepsOfHistory”
End of Description.
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Mission Impassable Exhibit Audio Description
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Mission Impassable Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
346 Words.
This panel sits a few feet east of the covered waiting area for the Northern Machine Gun Range (N15). Behind the panel extends a rugged, sweeping landscape of rolling hills covered with grasslands, juniper trees, and the occasional rocky outcropping. This is the terrain that historical travelers would have moved through.
An illustration of a wagon train laboring up a steep hill, moving from right to left, stretches across the panel. At the front of the wagon train, a tough, bearded teamster tugs on a strap, guiding his big black oxen directly at the viewer. To the right of the ascending wagons lay tumbled discarded items that travelers have left behind, including a wooden headboard, a small dresser, and a pile of books. A black dog curiously sniffs a discarded rocking chair. An arid juniper-spotted hill and a hazy evening sky frame this scene of labor and difficulty.
The text reads:
“As emigrants passed from open plains to the Rocky Mountain foothills, they had to make a choice: cross to the well-worn routes south of the North Platte River or venture onward through the rugged hills now part of Camp Guernsey’s northern training area. A group of settlers that included writer Andrew Child took the northern route—once thought impassable—in 1850.
Childs Cutoff offered several advantages over the southern path. It avoided the difficulties and ferry tolls that came with crossing the North Platte River at Fort Laramie and again at Fort Caspar. The northern path, however, presented its own challenges. Emigrants and animals endured the inclines of Emigrant Hill, and locked their wheels to slow and control the wagons on the long descent from Rocky Pass.
Lightening the Load
During difficult stretches, emigrants pitched heavy belongings trailside. Many a cherished cook stove, carved headboard, and favorite rocking chair littered the slopes of steep inclines as families struggled to reduce wagon weight. The next wagons could collect cast-off items—but most were already overburdened.”
In the lower right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit:go.nps.gov/MissionImpassable”
End of Description.
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Hope on the Horizon Exhibit Audio Description
Camp Guernsey Military Property: Hope on the Horizon Exhibit Audio Description
Wayside interpretive exhibit, full audio description is available.
Credit / Author:
NPS
Date created:
01/13/2026
355 words.
This vertical panel is mounted on the west-facing wall of the Northern Machine Gun Range (N150) waiting area. Mount Laramie is visible just to the left of the panel. The main text reads: “Wagon train emigrants first glimpsed the Rocky Mountains just before crossing into modern Wyoming. Laramie Peak, a beacon of hope on the horizon, symbolized an end to the plains and progress toward reaching their destination. The vision lifted emigrant spirits and helped them navigate for the next 100 miles.
The cone-shaped mountain, tinted blue when viewed from afar, dominates the skyline. Modern travelers see the 10,272-foot peak continually as they travel through southeastern Wyoming.”
A large illustration of a group of emigrants with covered wagons peering out as distant Mount Laramie dominates the panel. In the foreground on the left side, a boy wearing a cowboy hat strokes his tan dog and looks back at the view. The boy to his left holds up a hand to shade his eyes as he peers ahead at the peak. At the center of the illustration, a man calls back over his shoulder, beckoning followers to see the mountain ahead. On the right side, three men on horseback admire the distant peak.
A quote from an emigrant journal is featured on the right center: “For nearly all day we had a fine view of Laramie Peak from which I could not keep my eyes, render’d grander no doubt from our crawling along the prairies for so long a time and at night as it fadedaway I said to myself – All my troubles are forgot, gazing on this!”—Glass Gray June 13, 1849.
The lower right features two circular photographs of historic markers. The caption “Protecting Our History” reads: “These two types of markers are used in and around Camp Guernsey to indicate the presence of historic features. These include swales, which are ditch-like depressions from old wagon routes, and deep wheel ruts, evidence of iron-rimmed wheels cutting into the stone. Please leave these areas undisturbed.”
On the central right, the Audio Description symbol includes the text “For audio description of this wayside visit: go.nps.gov/HopeOnTheHorizon”
End of Description.
Learn More
Learn more about historic trails!
Explore history on the Trail
### Oregon National Historic Trail
Explore history on the Trail
### California National Historic Trail
Explore history on the Trail
### Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Explore history on the Trail
### Pony Express National Historic Trail
Where this belongs
- California National Historic Trail
- Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
- Oregon National Historic Trail
- Pony Express National Historic Trail
Where this page came from
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In these publicationsPony Express National Historic Trail
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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