JEFFREY CITY
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JEFFREY CITY |
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NAME: Jeffrey City COUNTY: Fremont ROADS: 2WD GRID: 5 CLIMATE: Hot in the summer, quite cold during the winter time! BEST TIME TO VISIT: Late summer time. |
COMMENTS:
There are only a few families loyal to Jeffrey City nowadays. From Casper, Wyoming follow Wyoming Highway 220 West 71 miles to Muddy Gap. Turn right on U.S. 287 West for 23 miles. Jeffrey City is on the left. Its a long and lonely drive, beleive you me! REMAINS: Many derelict buildings. Including an abandoned postoffice,youth hostel and the old mission, still operated by Father Rodriguez. |
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Jeffrey City, Wyoming, unlike 19th-century counterparts its origin was the atomic bomb. Cold War uranium mining built the city in the early 1950s, but Three Mile Island and Chernobyl killed it 30 years later. Sixty miles from the nearest municipality, Jeffrey City now rests virtually forgotten on an isolated two-lane highway. Adjacent to the old Oregon Trial, the town's once-modern duplex apartments and miners' dormitories sit boarded up on weed-choked streets. Nobody wants Wyoming uranium anymore. Thus, almost no one wants Jeffrey City. Several years ago it's entire K-12 school system closed, leaving more vacant buildings, including a huge multi-million dollar Reagan-era gymnasium that now languishes alone on the vast rangeland. Submitted by: Ryan J. Hill I feel Ryan Hill has a few things wrong with his Jeffrey City blurb. I grew up there, for over 10 years between 1990-2005. I attended school in Jeffrey City until the closing of Jr. High and the High school. There is currently still school there for very young children (like kindergarten thru 3rd) because busing them to Rawlins, Riverton or to Lander is too far and unsafe. Also the gym was not a multi-million dollar facitlity but in fact just 1 Million. As for the mission, I never heard of any Father Rodriguez....ever, nor a mission. Dez Coles UPDATE: We passed through there on the way up to Yellowstone, back in the summer of 1991. The person "Dez" who claims he/she was in high school there at that time is in error. Stopped at the filling station/restaurant to stretch our legs. (The only other motor vehicle we saw there was parked out front) Drove up from Rawlins and that is TRULY GODS Country up there. Was at least a half hour before we saw ANYONE. Woman came in, apologized for not getting to us sooner, and took our order. Said she ran the post office, restaurant, and filling station. We conversed a bit & from what she said... there were six residents in the town at that time, NOT counting the priest and the little indian orphanage somewhere near town. Honestly expected to see Rod Serling walk in and welcome us to the Twilight Zone.
Word of caution, don't expect to be able to make/ receive cell phone calls. If you go, make sure your vehicle is in GOOD condition, and let a friend or relative know your travel plans. We were there mid summer and once we got a couple miles North of Rawlins, we saw a total of maybe FIVE vehicles till we were coming into Yellowstone Park environs.
I'd only chance the trek during the months of May through August. Otherwise, be certain your life insurance is paid up to date.
Thanks for such an interesting web site.
Oh yeah... One more word of advice... BRING YOUR CAMERA!!!
Walt Daniels |
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