City of Rock Springs

FACT: Rock Springs was named after a natural spring around which the town was built.

The spring for which the town was named eventually dried up due to mining operations. However, Rock Springs owes its growth and development to the coal mining industry. It was coal mined from Rock Springs that the Union Pacific Railroad used to power their steam engines. During the summer and fall of 1868, hundreds of miles of rail were laid across Sweetwater County for the Union Pacific Railroad. Once completed, the railroad helped existing towns thrive, as well as establish new ones across the county.

Thanks to mining companies encouraging workers to migrate to the tiny Western town, Rock Springs continued to grow at a phenomenal rate. At one time, over fifty-six different nationalities were represented, resulting in Rock Springs being named the “melting pot of Wyoming.” The need for more workers brought Chinese contract laborers to work in the mines in 1875. This precipitated the Chinese Massacre of 1885 when white miners chased the Chinese out of town and burned Chinatown. As a result, the United States government sent soldiers to establish Camp Pilot Butte in the center of Rock Springs. Soldiers were stationed there until 1898 when the Spanish American War broke out.

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, when the Union Pacific Railroad converted to diesel and oil power, it appeared that Rock Springs might be doomed. The once economically powerful sheep industry was on a decline and there was a substantial loss of population from both the city and county. It was during World War II that the coal camps and mines began closing. It was feared that the town would not exist for much longer. However, salvation soon came in the form of trona.

With the oil and gas industry expanding, the exploration for gas and oil lead to the discovery of trona beds west of Green River. Since mining for trona was similar to the methods used in mining for coal, it was easy to convert coal miners to trona miners. A new industry was born and a town saved.

The trona minefields near Green River are the largest known deposit in the world. The highly useful mineral lies in layered evaporite deposits from 900 to 1600 feet below ground, where the trona was deposited in a lake during the Tertiary period.

Rock Springs and the surrounding suburbs now have a population of over 27,000 and are still growing. The area is home to great schools, an excellent community college, a modern hospital, many new parks and extensive recreation facilities. There is also a community fine arts center, city and county libraries and the community continues to strive to meet the needs of its people at all levels.

Getting There

From I-80, take exit 102, 103, 104, or 107.

For more information call
(307) 352-1500 or visit www.rswy.net