Wind River Valley, Wyoming.
When gold was discovered in the Wind River Valley, numerous mining camps, including South Pass City, Atlantic City, and Miner’s Delight, were established in what became known as the Sweetwater Mining District.
A post, first called Camp Augur and later Camp Brown, was built in 1869, where Lander is located today. However, it was not enough to protect settlers from raiding Indians.
On May 4, 1870, First Lieutenant Charles B. Stambaugh was shot from his horse by a band of warriors as he was helping defend a party of freighters. In his honor, another sub-post was established about eight miles North of the Sweetwater River, between Atlantic City and the Oregon-California Trail, in June 1870.
Major James S. Brisbin and the 2nd U.S. Cavalry established it, first calling it Camp Stambaugh. A few months later, it became a permanent post and was renamed Fort Stambaugh. Eight years later, as the mines began closing, people left the area, and Indian hostilities had decreased. The fort was abandoned on August 17, 1878, and was transferred to the Interior Department in May 1881. Today, all that’s left of the fort is a historic marker near South Pass City, Wyoming.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2026.
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