I’ve been looking for some info or history on this place in Spanish Fork but here’s some pictures of it in the meantime.

Beginning in 1843, emigrants traveled across the continent along what became known as the Oregon Trail. Increased traffic during the 1850’s resulted in the first government road construction project in the west. The 345 mile Central Division of the Pacific Wagon Road went from South Pass, Wyoming, to City of Rocks, Idaho, a geologic formation, which marked the Division’s western boundary. Superintendent Frederick W. Lander of Salem, Massachussetts, supervised construction for the U. S. Department of the Interior. The 256 mile section of the road leading from South Pass to Fort Hall, Idaho, is known as the Lander Cut-off. The cut-off traversed this Salt River Valley for 21 miles and parallels Highway 89 through this area. The new route afforded water, wood, and forage for emigrants and their stock. Between 1858 and 1912, it provided travelers with a new, shorter route to Oregon and California, saving wagon trains seven days. Lander, with a crew of 15 engineers, surveyed the route in the summer of 1857. The following summer, 115 men, many recruited from Salt Lake City’s Mormon emigrants, constructed the road in less that 90 days at a cost of $67,873. The invention of the automobile led to its abandonment.

The Green River presented a major obstacle to the westward bound emigrants. Throughout Crossing the Green River the years of the emigration, a number of different locations were used to ford, float, or ferry over the rivers. The most popular means of crossing for those on the main branch of the westward emigrant trails was the “Lombard Ferry,” established by mountain men in 1843. In 1850, the mountain men sold out to the Mormons who ran the ferries for the next eight years. At that time, it was usually called the Green River Mormon Ferry. The name Lombard Ferry did not attach to the site until after the emigration, when William Lombard took over the operation in 1889.

During the peak emigration months of May, June, and July, emigrants sometimes had to wait You can still see evidence of campsites. Axe chopped trees, etc.several days to cross. Evidence of the vast camping area can still be found on the eastern shores of the river, along with ruts leading away from the site. Rates could go as high as $16 per wagon for the crossing. Those emigrants who could not afford the toll or were too impatient to wait their turn often lost everything when they misjudged the current or slipped off the narrow gravel bar that allowed safe passage.

Other crossings in this area include the Robinson Ferry, a few miles south of Lombard Ferry. The Robinson Ferry was built by the Mormons in 1847 and operated by them until 1856 when it became the operation of Isaac Bullock and Lewis Robinson. A few years later, Indians attacked the Robinson homestead, killing all but a young girl. The ferry was then abandoned. The Robinson Ferry site is also within the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge.