Old West Group

SHERMAN, an end-of-track town that refused to fail, falls within the US Marshal’s Laramie District, in the Wyoming Territory, and is the highest point attained by the Union Pacific Railway on its whole course from ocean to ocean. The town was named for Sherman Pass, which was named after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, but nicknamed “Hell on Wheels.”

According to the Harper’s Weekly dated 16th of April, 1868…
About the same time in 1867, not far away, just 3 miles south of Sherman and just 25 miles north of Cheyenne, Jon Adams Claridge started a cow camp to supply the Union Pacific railroad crews and the local Sioux tribe,

A halt at Sherman station….
The inducements are mountain scenery, invigorating air, fishing, and hunting. A sojourn among the peaks of the Rock Mountains has the attraction of novelty to recommend it. Life there must be, in every sense of the word, a new sensation. But some sensations are undesirable notwithstanding their undoubted freshness. That splendid trout swarm in the streams near Sherman admits of no dispute. Yet one should not be tempted to indulge rashly in his harmless and charming sport. It is delightful to hook large fish; but is less agreeable to be pierced through by arrows.

The scenery around Sherman is bleak and wild. Several famous peaks are perceptible in the far distance. Long's Peak, one of the principal mountains of Colorado, 100 miles to the Southwest, and Pike's Peak, 200 miles to the South are "both plainly visible." To the North, Elk Mountain is "another noted landmark," about 150 miles distant. It is possible that these mountain tops may have been discerned in a vision by the compilers of books, but to the eye of the ordinary and unimaginative traveler they are invisible.

At Sherman, the snow never falls very deep, but there is a constant breeze, that most Eastern people would pronounce a gale, and the snow is constantly drifting and packs so hard whenever it finds lodgment, that it is exceedingly difficult to displace, requiring an immense power of snowplows, engines and shovels to clear the tracks and roads.

Sherman has, as a part of the railroad yards, a windmill, the vanes of which had a diameter of 20 feet. It was used to pump water into a tank holding 50,000 gallons. Additionally, the yard had a roundhouse with five stalls and a turntable. The railroad shops were required, in great part, by the necessity of double-heading the locomotives up the steep grade from Laramie.

As you approach Sherman, you will see the balanced rocks, and to the right of the station, about one-quarter of a mile, is a rugged peak, near which are graves of some who are quietly sleeping so near heaven, and a solitary pine tree, like a sentinel keeping guard over them.

Not far away, a good leisure ride, some five to seven miles, is Lake Sherman… where soft winds caress the out-lying woods that surround this satisfaction achieved dwelling. As soon as the beautiful trees with fall colors start to dispel their leaves, it is as if a blanket is covering the forest for a nice nap. Mirroring the gates of heaven, this is by far the closest thing on earth one will find near that sensation. After the passageway of inspirational colors, one finds the opening to euphoria. It instantly allows someone to see slow sloping depressions covered by blue-colored water, neighboring cunning mountainside reflections. The water is still…. The air is fragrant with honeysuckles, pine, and grass. For some unknown reason, you feel that a whisper tone is obligatory to maintain the perfect solidity. Vegetation is all along the bank with fruit producing vines in astonishing numbers. Birds are flying making their presence known by beautiful songs. Squirrels are running abroad looking for acorns, and the trees feel nice enough to share. Hummingbirds are hovering consistently over the honeysuckle bushes. Woodpeckers are knocking out a tune in stereo surround sound. A simple toss of nutrients into the water brings groups of fish giving their salutations. In the background, calls of the wild come from animals of all sorts. Toward the shore, bullfrogs are croaking a tune. Just above the waters limits are thick blades of Johnson grass coloring the earth where leaves have not yet landed. These blades of grass make a carpet to walk on. The grass seems like a ghostly light around the shore of the entire lake. From the rock-insulated mountains, a creek sends a soft harmonious tone. This clear mountain spring maintains the lake’s boundaries. Atop the earth created mountains, snow is visible and cascading down nearly half the total elevation. Trees tower from the lower half and ascend to meet the snow. The clouds are in a cumulus state throughout the seasons. The formations of the clouds seem to split and pass, like a thick fog. Often you can see a rainbow stretching across the sky as water turns to vapor by the suns solar rays. Overlooking the picture most dreams about, one will forget worries, troubles, and fears. The oasis of comfort is truly heaven sent. This almost perfect lake does pose a catch. The return to everyday life is waiting just down the hillside.

According to the Sherman Gazette, comments from Mark O’Donnell, a legal advocate who resides in Sherman…

Lawlessness prevailed in Sherman, and the first mayor, William O. “Bill” Owen, citing the town as ungovernable, resigned after only three weeks in office. He would recall,

Town government did eventually prevail, and the town persisted, unlike many other settlements along the track. As the railroad moved westward, Wyoming end-of-track towns, Hell on Wheels, developed where needed, and not always in sequence. Some railroad workers moved in advance of the track laying, while others arrived with the construction. Temporary residents and business owners often moved with the railroad; some Union Pacific railroad towns existed for only a matter of months then became ghost towns, others prospered and people chose to remain which formed permanent communities such as Sherman, Laramie, and Cheyenne.

However, despite the lawlessness, these towns, contributed to the construction of the engineering marvel which was the transcontinental railroad.

Sherman now boasts a newspaper office, a US Marshals Office and Jail, a millinery store, a large machine-shop, a Wells Fargo express office, a large national bank, a TSC Mining Company office, a mercantile, and 2 general stores, a train station, post office and telegraph, Livery and Blacksmith, a Doctor’s office, three hotels, one being the Grand Hotel and Steak House, five dance halls, twenty-five saloons the best being the Iron Horse Saloon, a seven-room schoolhouse, 5 gambling houses, a Church, and a Brothel.

More than a day’s ride is Fort Laramie, the primary way-station on the westward journey, not only for the emigration of people, but the progression of the railway system. Nearly everyone of any importance frequented it:

Thousands emigrated, including women and children, all who passed by the fort and, in the years that followed, it became increasingly evident that the primary role of the fort had become supplying the westward expansion. The Fort took on a central position in the government’s relationship both with the Plains Indian tribes as well as the westward bound emigrants. It was tapped to host a multi-tribe treaty conference aimed at negotiating rights of free passage through Indian lands for the emigrants in 1851; and, in 1868, it was the site of the great Sioux Treaty Council. Troops stationed at Fort Laramie, witness and participate in all the great dramas of the westward migration and settlement.

The Sherman Mountains, a small range, stretch across an area that is littered with blocks of granite. Giant odd-shaped rocks dot the plains between the sharp ridges, some stacked on top of one another to form massive formations. Mount Sherman, the tallest mountain between Laramie and Cheyenne, summits at 8841 feet, and just east of it lies Green Mountain, almost as tall. Together, these comprise the Twin Mountain.

From Cheyenne, past Sherman, thirty-three miles west, up the first heavy grade upon the road, all around are bare mountain tops. The ashen herbage is brightened by blue lungwort and yellow Arkansas wall-flowers, in clusters as large as the palm of a hand, or the crown of a hat. Granite boulders of gray and brown, spotted with yellow moss, are scattered here and there. One near the summit is fifty feet high, and shelters the cattle of a ranchman, who has fenced in a little space beside it.

The first part, which was easy enough to follow, and generally flat and pleasant. Short aspen lined parts of the ridge, and beyond that lay grassland dotted with sagebrush, broken by patches of ponderosa pine. Uphill through tangled undergrowth and boulders in a deeper, denser, lodgepole pine forest, to which leads to a round clearing that is evidently heavily-used for grazing or camping. Further uphill from the clearing, the trees got thicker and in some places the going would slow in order to successfully navigate the labyrinth of downed logs and boulders. The summit of Mount Sherman was barren and allowed a refreshing break out of the thick forest and a good look around to get one’s bearings.