A
cow town in the southwest corner of Wyoming, Evanston is
the ending (or starting) place for a scenic drive from or
to the Salt Lake City area, leading through the Mirror
Lake region, with views of the High Uinta Range.
The
history of Evanston lies in the building of the Union
Pacific Railroad and the town grew after the famed Bear
River City riot of November 21, 1868. The disturbance was
the result of a gang of roughnecks coming to town to prey
on railroad workers. Soldiers from nearby Fort Bridger
were sent to quell the riot but were hardly needed
because, by that time, the picked-upon had taken care of
the roughnecks.
Bear
River City went into decline and Evanston became the
railroad town, and thus the commercial and agricultural
center of the region. Accommodations in Evanston are
plain and simple -- a dozen motels, mostly low-priced --
and a fine bed and breakfast home.
What
to See & Do
The
best attraction near Evanston is Fort Bridger State
Historic Site. Located along Interstate 80 between
Evanston and Lyman, the fort features restored buildings
and a museum which commemorate the original Fort Bridger,
built in 1842 by mountain man, Indian fighter and guide
Jim Bridger. With his partner, Louis Vasquez, Bridger
opened the fort in 1843 as a trading post, strategically
located beside the Black's Fork River on the Overland
Route. The fur business was declining and the pair served
the steady stream of western migrants.
Fort
Bridger became an important provisioning center. The fort
was burned during the so-called "Mormon War" which saw
clashes between a growing Mormon community and federal
troops. U.S. Army Colonel A.S. Johnson took over the site
and declared it a military reservation. It was re-built
in 1858 and made a military post, then a station on the
Pony Express route and finally a supply center when the
Union Pacific came through with its tracks in
1967.
The
fort was permanently abandoned in 1890 and was used for a
variety of purposes until it was acquired by the state in
the 1920s. It's open daily from April 15 to October 15,
and entry is free of charge. There are a few campsites on
the fort site.
While
there are only two private campgrounds in Evanston and no
public campgrounds nearby, the best camping is back on a
scenic drive (mentioned earlier), across the Utah border
in the Mirror Lake area. There are many scenic forest
campsites along this route (Highway 150).
A
Day Trip from Evanston
A
complicated but enjoyable sideroad drive leads southeast
from Evanston to Green River (WY) and Manila (UT), the
Flaming
Gorge National Recreation
Area
and Vernal, Utah. On the way, the route passes the
historic southern border communities of Lonetree
and Burntfork, located on Henry's Fork. This was
the site of the series of Rocky Mountain fur trade
"rendezvous" which started in 1825. Mountain men, fur
traders and Indians came to Henry's Fork from far and
wide to see each other and to trade tall stories. To
start on this trip, drive east on Interstate 80 past Fort
Bridger and turn south on Road 414, which leads through
the small communities of Mountain View and Lonetree. Past
Burtfork, the road continues to Manila and then Highway
44 leads past the red gorge.
