| Cooper Creek Stage Station | |
|---|---|
  Cooper Creek Location of Cooper Creek Stage Station in Wyoming  Cooper Creek Cooper Creek (the United States) | |
| Location | Cooper Creek West of Laramie, Wyoming |
| Coordinates | 41°31′02″N106°04′16″W / 41.5173°N 106.0711°W |
| Built | 1862 |
| Built for | Early pioneers, Overland Stage and Mail |
Cooper Creek Stage Station was a resting spot for early American pioneers in wagon trains heading west on the Overland Trail. The site was in Albany County, Wyoming northwest of the present city of Laramie, Wyoming (on the Albany-Carbon County line). Cooper Creek Stage Station and the pioneers selected the site because it has good water year-round from the Cooper Creek. 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. Cooper Creek Stage Station saw its peak use during the California gold rush, which started in 1949. Travelers to Cooper Creek Stage Station arrived from Little Laramie Stage Station. From Rock Creek Stage Station, the Overland Trail travels west to the next stop, the Rock Creek Overland Stage Station, now Arlington, Wyoming. Cooper Creek Stage Station was the last station on the west edge of the Laramie Plains. From Cooper Creek Stage Station, the Overland Trail heads northwest to the rough trails of the Elk Mountain foothills and then to Fort Halleck. Wagon trail wheel ruts near Cooper Creek Stage Station can still be seen in the median strip along Interstate I-80, just west of Cooper Cove Valley. [1] [2] With the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad's first transcontinental railroad in 1868, [3] the wagon trains started to end. [4] [5] [6] [7]
