The Bighorn River winds through Central Wyoming, carving its way through the sage and cottonwoods. 

It provides much needed water for irrigation and fishing -  but was also once a dangerous barrier to those traveling into the Bighorn Basin region.  

During high water, the Bighorn River was nearly impassible. and lives were lost in it’s swift current. 

Since building bridges was not always an option, ferrymen were employed to carry people and livestock safely across the river. 

They were sturdy men, pioneers, innovators and entrepreneurs. 

The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. 

Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Wyoming. 

Here are their stories

Bighorn River Ferry: Dangerous Crossings

Today, we’ll be talking about a seemingly simple, yet surprisingly perilous piece of local infrastructure: the ferry on the Bighorn River. It was a lifeline for many in this rugged corner of Wyoming, but navigating the Bighorn’s powerful currents was no easy feat. From unexpected weather patterns to shifting currents, the dangers here are real. 

This is a story of resilience, risk, and the people who put their trust in a boat to carry them across one of the state’s wildest rivers.

Welcome to Pioneers of Outlaw Country, the podcast where we introduce you to the ghosts of the Wyoming frontier 

I am your host, Jackie Dorothy with my co-host, Dean King. We are continuing our series in partnership with the Wyoming Department of Transportation and their Buckle Up campaign to explore the history of the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway. 

Before the Yellowstone Highway was built through the canyon, travelers would take Birdseye Pass over the Wind River Canyon through Copper Mountain. This stagecoach route was steep and rocky, full of slides and deep ravines. The adventure did not stop when the driver emerged from the hills, however. Their next obstacle was the Bighorn River. 

To early pioneers, the Wyoming rivers could be the most dangerous adversary they faced. Fording high waters claimed many lives in the early years of the Cowboy State and cut off entire towns from the rest of the world. 

The Bighorn River in Thermopolis was one such dangerous waterway.  There were no bridges in the region and the community could not afford to build any. Public ferries were also perilous, and passengers took their own lives in their hands as they risked crossing the turbulent waters as one family discovered when the ferry capsized. 

It was June 1898 and Jack Ervay had boarded the free public ferry boar with his wife and baby to head to their camp on the east side of the Bighorn River into the new town of Thermopolis. Whether it was inexperience or bad luck, the ferry overturned, and the entire family had been swept away to their deaths.

After that, the use of the paid ferry increased as ferryman Adams touted the safety of using his ferry to get to the hot springs of Thermopolis. It was a better alternative than trying to ford the Bighorn River during high water or crossing on your own. 

He charged a rate of ten cents per passenger and hired ferrymen so that the ferry could run day and night for those who needed to cross. His passengers were not limited to wagons or pedestrians but he also ferried bands of sheep and cattle across the Bighorn River. 

During the fall and winter months, the river lowered enough so that the ferry was no longer needed and people could cross easily on their own. By 1899, the ferry into Thermopolis was called inconvenient and dangerous. Adams ferry was eventually replaced by a bridge but there were still areas on the Bighorn River that were still impassible. These sections acted as a barrier, preventing travelers from the south on easily entering the region. 

In 1905, the stage began running over Birdseye Pass over the east side of the Wind River Canyon and at the end of the trail, the stage would come to the often-impassible Bighorn River. The driver would be forced to drive miles out of his way when the river was too high. That was when one enterprising family saw their opportunity.

Henry B. Roberts, who went by the alias Jessie Yates, was running his cattle along the Bighorn River and Buffalo Creek. When the stage started to run on a twice-daily schedule near his property, he responded by building a ferry and charging a fee for passengers to safely cross rather than being forced to ford the high waters.

For eleven years, the Yates Ferry ran, carrying not only the stage across but also pedestrians, livestock and, in the later years, automobiles.                        

Yates, as he preferred to be known, opened his ferry for business in May of 1906. He had built his home nearby so was available at any time, day or night. As the years progressed, he hired others to man the ferry. 

The ferry was only running when the river was too high to ford which was, usually, from early spring until late fall.

After just one year of people paying the high price of Yates ferry, a movement began to build a bridge instead but it would take a decade before that could become a reality. In the meantime, travelers had to rely on the cumbersome ferry.

Not everyone was willing to pay the cost of using Yates ferry. 

According to the Thermopolis Record in August 1907, J. Roy Huntington decided to ford the river near the Yates Ferry and barely escaped with his life. 

He had plunged his wagon and horses into the icy water. Too late, he realized that the current was too strong. The wagon tipped over on top of him. 

Huntington held tight to the lines. Barely keeping his head above water, he managed to reach his horses. He untied a saddle horse that was being led beside the wagon. Battling against the current and fighting for his life, he held on to the stirrup and the horse carried him the west bank. The rest of his team went back to the other shore. All were saved, but barely.  

While there are no records of Yates ever losing a passenger, other ferrymen were not so fortunate, showing that even the ferry could be dangerous. 

The same year that Huntington nearly drowned, a ferry capsized further downstream in the Wind River Canyon. 

The Shoshoni Capital reported that two miners were on their way to Thermopolis with a team of valuable horses. The horses became frightened during the river crossing and went overboard. The river was so high, that the horses instantly drowned and the buggy was washed into the canyon. 

It was these accidents, and the fact that the ferries themselves were becoming old, that made the townspeople desperate for a bridge.

For years, town leaders rallied behind some way to pay for the expensive bridge. By 1914, automobiles were also using the ferry and these autoists needed a more reliable way to cross the river. They also joined the fight to get a bridge as part of the Yellowstone Highway, which at that time was still going over the steep Birdseye Pass. 

Finally, in 1916, a special election was called in Thermopolis to approve a two-mill tax to pay for a bridge near Yates Ferry and for better roads. 

A vote against the tax was a vote to stand still, according to the Thermopolis Record. They implored their readers that standing still while the rest of the state was going ahead was equivalent to going backward.

Their lobbying paid off. It took only four months after the tax passed until the bridge was built and ready for use. 

In July 1916, the Yates Ferry closed forever and with it, was the end of an era. The new modern steel bridge was safe for both livestock and the new-fangled automobile and opened up the Bighorn Basin to easier travel. 

The Yates Ferry has now become a thing of the past. Visitors can drive to Buffalo Creek Road which is off the Wind River Scenic Byway and stop at the rock monument that has been erected in the memory of this historic crossing. 

It is a chance to remember that travel wasn’t always so easy and that crossing the river was a dangerous adventure that most travelers wanted to avoid. 

Until next time, let’s continue to listen to these stories, so the past isn’t truly lost, but preserved for those who come after us.

This series celebrating 100 years of the Yellowstone Highway through the Wind River Canyon has been made possible through a partnership with the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

WYDOT AD

Buckle Up the Right Way!

Always place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck, and place the lap belt across your hips, not your stomach. You should never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under your arm. And remember: always buckle up.

Wyoming has vast, wide open spaces, and long drives. Please buckle up, every trip, every ride, every time.

Thank you for listening to Pioneers of Outlaw Country: Wyoming’s History. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of this historic series. 

This was a production of Legend Rock Media.

Sources:

Wyoming Newspaper Project: 1907 Copper Mountain Miner 

Newspapers.com