| Black Butte Station Site | |
|---|---|
  Black Butte station Location of Black Butte Station Site in Wyoming  Black Butte station Black Butte station (the United States) | |
| Location | Black Butte Coal Company Property near Black Butte Road and I-80 |
| Coordinates | 41°37′53″N108°40′23″W / 41.6315°N 108.673°W |
| Built | 1862 |
| Built for | Early pioneers, Overland Stage and Mail |
Black Butte Station Site was a resting spot for early American pioneers in wagon trains heading west on the Overland Trail. The site is in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, east of the town of Point of Rocks. Black Butte Stage Station and the pioneers selected the site because it has fair water from the nearby Bitter Creek and the coal deposits on the ground. The pioneers used the coal for cooking and campfire heat. The site was also used as a route for the Overland Stage and Mail from 1862 to 1869, which ran from Denver to Salt Lake. Black Butte was named after a large black butte five miles to the west of the station. Travelers to the Black Butte Stage Station arrived from the Big Pond Station Site, fourteen miles away. From the Black Butte Stage Station, the Overland Trail travels west to the next stop, the Point of Rocks, Wyoming and then the Salt Wells Station Site. [1] [2]
With the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad's first transcontinental railroad in 1868, the wagon trains started to end. [3]
