bids were too high. Previous river flow Anchors and portions of cable are all that records indicated the reservoir would fill remain of the original structure. The trail N slowly, it was decided to put off building the continues along the river and east to the dike. Unexpectedly water flowed into the Engineer's Camp. Look for the stone steps INTERPRETIVE reservoir much faster than it could be built by the Youth Conservation Corp Pathfinder Reservoir CENTER DAM 1 released. It appeared the rising floodwaters (YCC) in the 1980's on the North side of 3 would breach the low place and cut a new the bridge. 2 GRAVE- 4 YARD To channel, leaving the dam useless. OVERLOOK HWY 220 7. Engineer's Camp 5 DIKE Workmen hastily built a temporary dike 6 County 408 SWINGING To FREMONT across the gap. But just in case it failed to Foundations in this area show where the BRIDGE CANYON hold the water back, there was a plan to engineer's offices and residences were blow off the top of the dam at the last located. The single standing building is ENGINEERS CAMP possible moment rather than allow a new believed to have been the jail. The area 7 channel to form. Several dynamite charges also provided a Post Office, barn, carriage were actually placed in the dam. house, cistern, and pump house. PATHFINDER INTERPRETIVE TRAIL Fortunately, the dike succeeded and the Laborer's lived in a separate area north of dam was saved. Maximum storage the dam. Some women accompanied their occurred on July 10 with water lapping husbands to Pathfinder during the The North Platte Project against the dike. Workmen capped the construction. At least one baby was born Pathfinder Dam explosives with mortar and there they in a tent a few hundred yards from the Pathfinder Dam is the major storage dam remained until 1949 when an explosives dam. Living conditions varied from snug for the Bureau of Reclamation(s North Interpretive expert removed them prior to installation of homes of the Engineer's Camp to tarpaper Platte Project. Other facilities on this the elevator. shacks and tents of the Contractor's Camp. project include Guernsey Dam and Trail Groceries and all other supplies had to be Powerplant, Whalen Diversion Dam (eight A permanent dike was built during 1910- freighted in from Casper. Wagonloads of miles downstream from Guernsey), the 1911. A Marion steam shovel and a traction slaughtered beef, supplied by local Interstate Canal, the Fort Laramie Canal, engine were used in its construction. The ranchers, were hauled across the river on and the Northport Canal. The main dike measures 1,650 feet long and 38 feet the tramway to the camps. purpose of the project was to reclaim arid high, and has a concrete corewall. lands into productive farmland. Since The trail continues uphill and to the west 1908, lands irrigated by Pathfinder water 6. Swinging Bridge approximately 0.4 miles to the overlook have produced crops valued at over $2 parking area. On the way you may see billion. The tremendous significance of A Self-Guided Tour The trail continues down towards the river remnants of a garbage dump the Pathfinder Dam has been recognized by 1.7 Miles where you will come upon the Swinging dambuilders used. You may wish to take placement on the National Register of Bridge. The Bridge was originally built the 0.2 mile overlook trail to the canyon Historic Places and by designation as a during construction of Pathfinder Dam to rim. Follow the road to the end of the trail Wyoming Historic Civil Engineering provide easy access from the damsite to the which ends 0.3 miles west of the overlook Landmark. Although the dam is about 100 Engineer's Camp which lies ahead. The parking area, at the Pathfinder Interpretive years old, its appearance has changed bridge has been rebuilt several times, most Center. very little since workmen placed the last U.S. Department of the Interior recently in 1995. Early photographs show mortar and stone. Bureau of Reclamation the bridge looking much the same now as Wyoming Area Office when it was first built. The bridge is 5 feet PO Box 1630 wide and spans 100 feet. Today Mills, WY 82644 The Pathfinder buildings contain gates which control water 4. Outlet Works cable anchorage directly above them broke, Interpretive releases through the river outlet jet flow and in falling, the cable swept them to the Trail gates. On the North side of the canyon bottom. Three of the bodies were sent downstream of the dam you can see tunnel east for burial. Since the other two had no Text is keyed to map 3. The Dam outlets for two jet flow gates. During the family in the United States, they were summer, water releases through the 60- buried nearby in a small graveyard, located Pathfinder Dam, built without benefit of inch gates help supplement the Fremont off the paved road leading to Highway 220, 1. Damtender's House (Trailhead) modern machinery, took four years to Canyon Powerplant flows to meet the approximately 1 mile northeast of the Dam. complete. The dam contains 60,000 cubic heavy irrigation demand downstream. The You may wish to visit this graveyard which Pathfinder Dam Interpretive Center, yards of stone and over 50,000 barrels of gates are operated by hydraulic pumps contains three marked and four unmarked formerly the damtender's house, contains cement. Larger rocks placed in the dam controlled remotely from the Casper Control graves. One of the graves belongs to an exhibits relating to the construction of weighed several tons each. Stone quarries Center. The gates were installed in 1987 infant and another to the postmistress at Pathfinder Dam and Dike. Access to the near the dam site provided ample rock, and replacing two needle valves which were the dam during the construction period. interpretive center may be arranged by the cement was hauled by "string teams" installed in 1927. Water stored in contacting the Natrona County Roads, from Casper, the nearest railhead. Pathfinder is used to irrigate 335,000 acres As you continue down the trail notice the Bridges and Parks Department at 307- Engineers from the U.S. Reclamation of cropland in eastern Wyoming and black stripe of igneous rock intruded into 235-9325. Service (now the Bureau of Reclamation), western Nebraska. Major crops grown the surrounding granite. Watch for wildlife. an agency created by the 1902 Reclamation include sugar beets, corn, dry beans such You may see golden eagles, hawks, Workmen built this stone building in1906 Act, supervised the construction. as pintos, and alfalfa hay. Canada geese, and many species of to house a reservoir superintendent, or smaller birds including hundreds of cliff damtender, and his family. The duties of Most of the laborers came from Denver. The furthest downstream north tunnel outlet swallows which nest on the canyon walls. If the damtender included maintenance Extreme weather, isolation and severe was the original outlet when the dam was you watch closely you may see a work and operation of the outlet works. working conditions and the hard work led built. Uses of this tunnel evolved as the sagebrush lizard, chipmunk, and a few many of the men to leave before they had outlet works were changed over the years. species of rodents and snakes. Walk from the stone house south along worked off their transportation advances. Look for the abandoned south tunnel outlet the county road to the spillway area and Despite labor problems and poor weather, opposite the jet flow gates. This outlet was 5. Earthen Dike the dam. the dam itself was finished June 14, 1909. fed by six Ensign valves and operated from The dike and several minor jobs remained. 1912 to 1958. The tunnel was plugged A crisis occurred shortly after the dam was 2. Spillway Area when the new Fremont Canyon powerplant completed: floodwaters exceeding all tunnel was built. The Fremont tunnel, three predictions poured 1,000,000 acre-feet into As you walk across the spillway, try to Pathfinder Dam Information miles long and 18 feet in diameter, was built the reservoir in June alone. Because of a imagine water flowing over it toward the in 1958 and links Pathfinder Reservoir with low place 1/4 mile south of the dam, the canyon below. The elevated footwalk Masonry Arch Dam the hydroelectric plant located in Fremont capacity of the reservoir was only 725,000 provides access to the dam during Construction Period: 1905-1909 Canyon on the headwaters of Alcova acre-feet. Ordinarily the spillway would periods of high water. When Pathfinder Height: 214 Feet Reservoir. permit the excess water to safely bypass was the only reservoir on the North Platte Crest Length: 432 Feet the dam. But the spillway was designed for River, water spilled frequently. It spills Maximum Base Width: 97 Feet Prior to the installation of the elevator on use when the reservoir reached its potential rarely now, most recently in 1986. The Reservoir Capacity: 1,016,000 Acre-Feet, the face of the dam, the concrete capacity, after a dike had been built across three buildings near the dam contain or 331 billion gallons ladderway on the south canyon wall the low spot. The spillway elevation was gate-operating equipment for releasing Surface Area: 22,014 Acres at elevation provided access to the canyon floor. On too high to be of any use in 1909. water from the reservoir. The square 5850.1 February 9, 1912, five men fell to their concrete building is the intake gate Cost: $1,800,000 up to 1913 (includes dam, deaths while constructing the ladderway.