New Fork, Wyoming
Encyclopedia
New Fork is a ghost town
in Sublette County, Wyoming
, United States
, near Boulder
. It was one of the earliest settlements in the upper Green River valley. New Fork was established in 1888 by John Vible and Louis Broderson, Danish immigrants who had arrived in the United States in 1884. They established a store along the Lander cut-off of the Oregon Trail
. By 1908 a small town had grown around the store, and in 1910 Vible built a dance hall, called The Valhalla.
In the early years of the settlement the local Bannock and Shoshoni Indians from the Wind River Indian Reservation
accounted for much of the town's trade. Vible and Broderson's original store was a log cabin, selling supplies obtained in Evanston
.
The death of Vible and members of his family from diphtheria
and scarlet fever
in 1915 started a decline, exacerbated by the abandonment of the Lander cut-off. Mail service stopped in 1918.
Several log and frame buildings remain in the townsite.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in Sublette County, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, near Boulder
Boulder, Wyoming
Boulder is a census-designated place in Sublette County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Boulder is located at ....
. It was one of the earliest settlements in the upper Green River valley. New Fork was established in 1888 by John Vible and Louis Broderson, Danish immigrants who had arrived in the United States in 1884. They established a store along the Lander cut-off of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. By 1908 a small town had grown around the store, and in 1910 Vible built a dance hall, called The Valhalla.
In the early years of the settlement the local Bannock and Shoshoni Indians from the Wind River Indian Reservation
Wind River Indian Reservation
Wind River Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Native Americans in the central western portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming...
accounted for much of the town's trade. Vible and Broderson's original store was a log cabin, selling supplies obtained in Evanston
Evanston, Wyoming
Evanston is a city in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Uinta County.-Geography:Evanston is located at...
.
The death of Vible and members of his family from diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
and scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
in 1915 started a decline, exacerbated by the abandonment of the Lander cut-off. Mail service stopped in 1918.
Several log and frame buildings remain in the townsite.
External links
- New Fork at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office