Just before getting to Bonneville, you will see a "parking lot" for railroad cars (below).
We were told that the building below (in the middle of the "parking lot") used to be the only location in Bonneville where you could buy anything.
This is the adjoining building, next to the one above:
The first building you see driving into Bonneville is up on a small hill above the town (see below). According to locals, it used to be the school house, then it became a church, and then a bar before it became vacant once again. It is the only building which survived the flood of 1923 which wiped out the whole town.
The town consists of only a dozen homes or so, mostly manufactured homes.
The residents are quite friendly and helpful. Shagg, below, was especially hospitable and informative (yes, that's his real name). He has paint on his shirt because he was in the process of making a sign to inform one of his neighbors that they needed to do a better job in cleaning up their property.
Across the street from Shagg's place is this spudder made by Fort Worth Well Machinery.
Before Badwater Creek flooded in 1923, Bonneville was a thriving town. It had its own post office, train depot, a motel, and a bank--the foundation of which can be seen in the photograph below.
The train which connects Casper and Thermopolis runs through Bonneville.
This is the railroad bridge over Badwater Creek.
By the time we finished our excursion in Bonneville, the sun was beginning to set. This is what it looked like in Wind River Canyon as we drove back to Thermopolis.
We were told that the building below (in the middle of the "parking lot") used to be the only location in Bonneville where you could buy anything.
This is the adjoining building, next to the one above:
The first building you see driving into Bonneville is up on a small hill above the town (see below). According to locals, it used to be the school house, then it became a church, and then a bar before it became vacant once again. It is the only building which survived the flood of 1923 which wiped out the whole town.According to this web site, the town is named after Captain B. L. E. Bonneville. Another web site says this about Bonneville: "Five miles north of Shoshoni, a little burg named Bonneville was constructed on the CB&Q Railroad, which had been extended along the Badwater Creek. The town was almost totally destroyed by the flooding of Badwater Creek in 1923. Twenty miles of railroad track, several rail cars and one motor car were never recovered from the flood. They remain buried deep in the sandy mud of Badwater Creek."
The town consists of only a dozen homes or so, mostly manufactured homes.
The residents are quite friendly and helpful. Shagg, below, was especially hospitable and informative (yes, that's his real name). He has paint on his shirt because he was in the process of making a sign to inform one of his neighbors that they needed to do a better job in cleaning up their property.
Across the street from Shagg's place is this spudder made by Fort Worth Well Machinery.
Before Badwater Creek flooded in 1923, Bonneville was a thriving town. It had its own post office, train depot, a motel, and a bank--the foundation of which can be seen in the photograph below.
The train which connects Casper and Thermopolis runs through Bonneville.
This is the railroad bridge over Badwater Creek.
By the time we finished our excursion in Bonneville, the sun was beginning to set. This is what it looked like in Wind River Canyon as we drove back to Thermopolis.
link: index to photographs
I admire Shagg, because he initiated to do a better job like cleaning their property. He is a good example. I think, the Manufactured Homes there needs renovation.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a ghost town to me because I can't see people. Only Shagg. The homes there must have been beautiful during on their earlier years.
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