The Astorians

The returning party was here because it was lost. Leaving the Bear River, Stuart turned north on September 13, 1812, up the wrong branch, and his seven men worked along the present Idaho line looking for a way over the Salt River Range. The Snake they came down to was the river the overland Astorians had named Mad River, and on September 19 Crow raiders ran off all their horses. Soon afterward Robert McClellan left the group to push on alone. The plate's later lines are the monument's own: a 1939 road, a 1990 rebuild.

What the plaque says

The Astorians Here in Sept. 1812, the returning Astorians led by Robert Stuart were attacked by the Indians and their horses stolen. Dedicated July 4, 1939, to commemorate the opening of the Snake River Canyon Road. Built by Civilian Conservation Corps. Reconstructed by the town of Alpine. Dedicated July 4, 1990, for 'Wyoming's Centennial' as a lasting legacy-project.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Teton Pass — 24 mi
  The trail the Astorians crossed in 1811, the six wagons of 1889, the highway of 1969, and the hairpin that slid off the mountain in 2024.
• National Elk Refuge — 26 mi
  Stephen Leek's photographs of starving elk built this winter refuge in 1912; a century of hay feeding is now its hardest question.

More markers nearby

• Cariboo Mountain — 22 mi
• John Grey — 22 mi
• John Colter — 26 mi