Oregon Trail Memorial

The plate names a donor and a date, and both belong to a ranch. Charles Guernsey trailed cattle here from Colorado in June 1880, and the Guernsey Cattle Company, brand 999, ran at the foot of the cliff until 1926. Henry Frederick's family took up the place after that, and in 1932 Frederick gave the cliff to the State of Wyoming as a memorial to the pioneers. The Fredericks still ranch nearby. The cliff was listed on the National Register in 1970, and the state keeps it as a historic site.

What the plaque says

Oregon Trail Memorial Dedicated to the pioneers of Wyoming Register Cliff Acquired by the State of Wyoming through gift of the Henry Frederick family 1932

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Register Cliff State Historic Site — steps away
  The first camp out of Fort Laramie, where the oldest date on the rock reads 1829 and three emigrants never left.
• Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site — 2.0 mi
  The clearest wagon ruts on the trail, worn by iron tires and cut deeper by travelers who hacked at the ledge to get their wagons over.
• Fort Laramie National Historic Site — 8.5 mi
  Old Bedlam, the officers' quarters of 1849, survived the auction that scattered the rest of the post; an 1875 Army bridge still crosses the river.

More markers nearby

• Register Cliff — steps away
• Pony Express Station — 0.3 mi
• Oregon Trail Ruts — 2.0 mi
• Oregon Trail Ruts — 2.0 mi