Lincoln Highway, Granite Canyon. Nine miles west Cheyenne the early traveller came to Granite Canyon. Lincoln Highway, Granite Canyon. The 1916 Official Guide reported that Granite Canyon had a population of 29 but No tourist accommodations. it did, however, have a railroad station and an express company, a telephone and drinking and radiator water. Three miles west of Granite Canyon, the early traveler came to Ozone Crossing. Ozone Crossing. Sixteen miles West of Cheyenne, one comes to a geologic formation known as the "Gangplank" where the flat sedimentary rocks of the Great Plains are preserved along the east flank of the Laramie Mountains. The formation permits a gradual ascent westwardly and provided a route for the Union Pacific and later the Lincoln Highway. In the area of Granite Canyon one enters the Sherman Mountains, actually the eroded crest of the Laramie Range running southerly from Laramie Mountain. From the east the mountains give the appearance of low, rounded, barren hills, notwithstanding that they are higher than any mountains east of the Mississippi, see photo of Tree in the Rock below. The range includes Iron Mountain, Red Ridge, the Horse Creek Hogback, Mesa Mountain, and the Twin Mountains. The Laramie Range consists of a pink granite estimated to be over 1.4 billion years old. The rock into which the granite was intruded is estimated to be 1.7 billion years old. The Granite Canyon area, west of Cheyenne, was in the center of an early mining district, the Silver Crown District, which included the Lenox Mine, the Julia Lode, the Agata Prospect and the Arizona Mine. In nearby Hecla, was the Yellow Bird Mine. In 1869,Albert D. Richardson, a correspondent for the New York Tribune described the ascent from Cheyenne to Sherman: From Cheyenne I came to Sherman, thirty-three miles west, up the first heavy grade upon the road ninety feet to the mile. All around are bare mountain tops. The ashen herbage is brightened by blue lungwort and yellow Arkansas wall-fiowers, in clusters as large as the palm of a hand, or the crown of a hat. Granite boulders of gray and brown, spotted with yellow moss, are scattered here and there. One near the summit is fifty feet high, and shelters the cattle of a ranchman, who has fenced in a little space beside it. Double snow fences of stones, or one of stones and the other of boards, six or eight feet high and a few yards apart, follow the north side of the track. Here and over the Laramie Plains for two hundred miles westward, the winter is most troublesome. The Chief Engineer and Superintendent are sanguine that after a year or two of experience they can overcome this enemy, so that no train need ever be delayed more than twenty-four hours. They will have to build more fences and roof the cuts, and even then they may find their task hard. Last winter was unusually mild, but the drifts proved very difficult to deal with. At first, motorists along the Lincoln Highway did not have road maps to guide their way, but, instead relied on written directions. One set of such directions prepared by a Cheyenne garage gave instructions from Laramie to Cheyenne: Mile 25.1 Cross road. Sherman Monument on right Mile 25.3 Cross road Mile 25.4 Road joins from right Mile 26.2 Keep right hand road Mile 30.1 Bad rock Mile 30.4 Cross road Mile 30.9 Buford station, cross road, keep straight ahead along RR Mile 36.5 Bad bridge Mile 39 Granite Canyon station, keep right up over hill Mile 40 Cross RR track. Keep left side of track to Cheyenne. Buford Station, 1910 At one time, there actually was a station and a hotel at Buford Station. Buford Station was at the beginning of the 20th Century a source of "Sherman Gravel" used for railroad ballast which came from the Railroad's own quarries. In recent years, Buford boasted a population of two, a father and son who operate the gas station. The Official Guide reported it to have a population of 80, but no tourist accommodations. there was one general business place, 1 railroad, 1 express company, 1 telephone company, 1 public school. Beautiful scenery. From the telegraph station one could seen the "Twin Mountains" two peaks in the Black Hills, near which the noted desperado, Jack Slade, once had his retreat. At Buford, the Lincoln Highway initially turned to the southwest toward Tie Siding and then northward to Laramie. Soon, however, proposals for relocation of the highway to a route from Laramie to Cheyenne either via Happy Jack Road or via Telephone Canyon began to be considered. Telephone Canyon had the advantage of saving six miles between the two cities. The Lion's Club advocated a route which they labeled the "Lions Trail." In 1916 the official route of the Lincoln Highway was rerouted through Telephone Canyon. And in the debate, just as Denver attempted to divert traffic, merchants along by-passed routes were not above misleading motorists. The kLaramie Republican, July 20, 1920, reported rumors that tourists were being misdircted away from Laramie by a garage in Tie Siding: It seems that the garage at Tie Siding has been instructing toursts to take the road through Boswell's and North Park, instead of the Lincoln highway, alleging that the highway was in terrible condition near Medicine Bow. Such rports are untrue, as the Council of Industry has ascertained that the Lincoln highway out of Medicine Bow has been repaired and a crew is now leveling off all rough spots. As the travel will fron now on come through Telephone canyon, it is not considered that tourists will be further misdirected. As noted in the next photo the population of Buford has declined but there is a business for tourists. Buford Station approx. 1954 Subsequent to the above photo, the town burned down as a result of a ligntning strike. It was rebuilt by its then owner Don Sammons. For a while it had a population of 2, but his son moved away leaving the town with a population of 1. In 2011 it was sold. Buford Station. from Buford Station one could take an alternate route to Laramie via way of Tie Siding. West of Buford Station the early motorist came to a sight which became in many ways the symbol of the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming, the Tree in the Rock, the Ames Monument and the site of the town of Sherman. Lincoln Highway Field Secretary's official car at the Tree in the Rock, approx. 1919. Lincoln Highway at the Tree in the Rock In the spring of 1868 when the Union Pacific was being constructed west of Cheyenne, the surveyors came across this struggling small tree growing out of a solid boulder of 1.43 billion year old pink Sherman granite. The railroad was relocated so as to preserve the tree. Locomotive engineers would stop to water the tree. In 1902, the railroad was relocated so as to avoid the steep grade at Sherman Hill and the necessity of double-heading the locomotives up the grade from Laramie. The old rail grade continued to be used as a wagon road. With the opening of the Lincon Highway, the old grade continued along the same location. Today, I-80 continues along the same route with the tree in a wayside park located in the median. Music this page: Lincoln Highway, a Two Step composed in 1921 by Harry J. Linoln(1878-1937) and arranged for Horse Creek Cowboy Band. It was a popular dance hall number in the 1920's. Next page, Lincoln Highway, the Summit.