| Green River Station Site Lombard Ferry | |
|---|---|
  Green River Station Location of Green River Station Site Lombard Ferry in Wyoming  Green River Station Green River Station (the United States) | |
| Location | Wyoming Highway 28 and the Green River |
| Coordinates | 41°52′47″N109°48′28″W / 41.8798°N 109.8077°W |
| Built | 1862 (Overland) |
| Built for | Early pioneers, Overland Stage and Mail |
Green River Station Site and the Lombard Ferry was a resting spot for early American pioneers in wagon trains heading west on the Overland Trail. The site was in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, 30 miles northwest of the City of Green River, Wyoming. Green River Station and the pioneers selected the site because it has good year-round water from the Green River. The Green River is too deep to ford most of the year, so both the wagon trains and the stagecoaches had to cross the river on the Lombard Ferry. The Green River could be forded when the river's level was low. As all travelers had to cross the river, the station became a small town, with five stores and one saloon. The area's first US Post Office was opened on the Green River Station's west bank in 1853. The station had six cabins/houses for the station and ferry workers. Working at the station were the Overland station keeper, stagecoach drivers, riders, and livery yard workers. The Lombard Ferry was founded by mountain men in 1843. In 1889, William Lombard took over the ferry operations and gave it his name. The ferry could only cross about 40 wagons in a day, so in peak season, there was a waiting line to cross. The Lombard Ferry was not the only ferry to cross the Green River, a few miles south was the Robinson Ferry. [1] Two other river ferries were just north of the Lombard Ferry at the Kinney and Slate Creek cutoffs. [2]
The site was on the route for the Overland Stage and Mail from 1862 to 1869, which ran from Denver to Salt Lake. Travelers to the Green River Stage Station arrived from the Rock Springs Station. From the Green River Stage Station, the Overland Trail travels west to the next stop, the Lone Tree Swing Station Site. [3] [4]
There is a historical marker for the Lombard Ferry crossing on South Autotour Road just off Wyoming Highway 28. The closest city is Farson, Wyoming, 30 miles northeast. [1] [5]
Due to the good water supply, the Union Pacific Railroad ran the First transcontinental railroad's Overland Route rail service over the Green River 30 miles southeast of the Green River Station, now the City of Green River. [6] [4]
With the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad's first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the wagon trains and stagecoaches started to end. The Lombard Ferry remained in use into the 1900s. [7]
