Skip to main content

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 3; the long road to the Black Hills

By
After I left Trail Ridge and Rocky Mountain National Park I took US Route 34 to I-25/US 87 north into Wyoming.  My road ahead was in Custer in the Black Hills of South Dakota.






This blog is a continuation of Part 2 which covered the Trail Ridge Road of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Part 2; Trail Ridge Road/US Route 34 and Rocky Mountain National Park

I continued north on I-25/US 87 which briefly picked up US 85 in Cheyanne.  North of Cheyanne the routing of I-25/US 87 was undergoing heavy construction which had traffic onto the shoulder for a solid 20 miles.  Eventually I made it past the construction and pulled off the Interstate onto US 26 in Platte County where I then headed eastbound.  My next turn was north on WY 270 so I could check the ghost towns of Hartville, Sunrise and Manville.

Along WY 270 there is a junction for the small 1.1 mile WY 318.  WY 318 heads east from WY 270 through Hartville to the former company town of Sunrise.  Before the 1970s WY 270 used to terminate at WY 318 while the latter continued south to US 26 near Guernsey.  There was a point in time when WY 318 used to cross the Sunrise Mine but it appears to have been realigned due to the open pit mining at some point westward to the present route of WY 270.  The alignment in question regarding WY 318 through Sunrise can be seen on the 1951 and 1956 State Highway Maps of Wyoming.

1951 State Highway Map 

1956 State Highway Map 

Hartville apparently is one of the oldest towns in Wyoming.  Hartville and the Sunrise were active mining areas worked from the 1880s up until about 1980.  Iron was most common ore mined out of Hartville and Sunrise but I'm to understand that there was some copper claims nearby as well.  The earliest reference to Hartville I could find on a map of Wyoming was in 1891.

1891 Sectional Map 

In the 1890s the Wyoming Railway and Iron Company built a line from nearby Guernsey to exploit the iron mining claims near Hartville.  By the end of the decade the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company began to invest in mining near Hartville which led to the creation of the company town Sunrise in the early 1900s.  The Sunrise Mine used various types of mining methods through the years but the town and mine were apparently shuttered in 1980.  Today WY 318 dead-ends at a gate preventing access to Sunrise but various buildings can still be seen near the mining facilities from Satellite.

Hartville apparently has about 60 residents left which are mainly congregated to WY 318 on Main Street.  There are many early 20th Century style buildings lining Main Street, the former rail grade appears to be on Railroad Street a block north.












After visiting Hartville I continued north on WY 270 to a junction with US 18/20 in Manville located in Niobrara County.  Manville apparently has had Post Office Service since 1887 and shows up on the above Wyoming Map from 1891.   Apparently Manville used to a population approaching 600 during the 1920s.  The community essentially is nothing but a ruin consisting of abandoned buildings along 5th street and derelict roads.











Interestingly 9th Avenue through Manville is a former alignment of US 20.  US 18 was apparently extended through Manville to Orin in 1967 from a previous western terminus in Mule Creek Junction at US 85 according to USends.com.

USends.com on US 18

After leaving Manville I continued east on US 18/20 to Lusk where I followed US 18/85 north.  Interestingly there was a large bridge detour over the rail lines which involved using Griffith Boulevard.

I followed US 85 north to US 16 as US 18 split east towards the South Dakota State Line.  Upon turning east on US 16 I took into to the South Dakota State Line in the Black Hills of Custer County.  I did stop at Jewel Cave National Monument to see if there was an open cave tour which was to no avail.  I did do some brief hiking in the canyons surrounding the Jewel Cave but neglected to take any photos due to not being able to take a cave tour.

East of the Jewel Cave I made it to my final destination for the day in City of Custer.  Custer is the County Seat of Custer County and is generally considered to be the oldest European Community in the Black Hills having been founded in 1875.  Gold Claims near Custer were found during the 1874 Black Hills Expedition which was led by Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer.  The City of Custer was the genesis point of the Black Hills Gold Rush which apparently peaked out around 1877.

The City of Custer has various routes traversing it.  US 16A splits away from US 16 in downtown Custer and heads east towards Custer State Park in addition to Mount Rushmore.  US 385 heads south towards Wind Cave National Park.





In general most of the historic buildings in Custer are located on Mount Rushmore Road in downtown.










Part 4 of this series can be found here:

2016 Summer Mountain Trip Part 4; Wind Cave National Park

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...
Post a Comment
Read more