Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and distinguished guests had the honor of cutting the ribbon to officially dedicate and open the new Lander Trail Center. Paul Scherbel Sr, from Big Piney, is on the far right.
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Governor Freudenthal
Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal was the special guest speaker at the dedication ceremony.
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More than 13,000 emigrants traveled the Lander Trail in 1859, its first year of use.
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New Lander Trail Center opens in Afton
Big Piney resident Paul Scherbel significant contributor to the effort
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
June 6, 2009
Big Piney resident, Paul Scherbel Sr., was one of the distinguished guests at the Dedication and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Lander Trail Center in Afton, Wyoming on Saturday, June 6th. The new center is the culmination of nearly two years of hard work by The Lander Trail Foundation, of Afton.
Wyoming Governor Dave Freuenthal attended as a special guest speaker for the dedication ceremony. Governor Freudenthal said, "I can’t stress enough how incredibly important it is that we keep history alive." He said he thought TV and movies had sanitized the real story of life for people who traveled the Lander Trail on their way west, "taking away the physical and human drama of the people who settled this place." The Lander Trail saved seven days of travel for emigrants using the Oregon Trail to the Oregon. "These were ordinary people doing extraordinary things," Freudenthal said. "We have to remember the human part of history and not forget they lost lives along that trail."
The Center received support from corporate sponsors J.R. Simplot and ExxonMobil, the Lincoln County Commissioners, and Benefactors: T. Donald McCutcheon Jr. of Rock Springs, LeClercq L. Jones, and Paul Scherbel Sr.
Board of Directors of The Lander Trail Foundation are Jermy Wight, Larry A. Call, J. Steven Perry, Chad V. Jensen, and Daniel Dockstader.
The new Lander Trail Center is located at 140 West 1st Avenue, next to the Afton Civic Center.
The 252-mile long Lander Trail was a cutoff of the Oregon Trail. It begins in South Pass City, Wyoming, passes through Sublette County, through the Wyoming and Salt River mountain ranges into Star Valley, Wyoming, and ends at Fort Hall, Idaho. It was surveyed and built in 1857-58 by pioneer engineer Frederick W. Lander for the Department of the Interior. It is the only stretch of the Oregon Trail system to be subsidized and intentionally constructed as a road by the federal government. It was the first federally-funded "road" by the government, saving seven days’ travel for people traveling west. More than 13,000 emigrants traveled it in 1859, its first year of use. Portions of the trail are still passable today and many stretches are on public land, marked with historical signs and trail markers.
In July, 2008, Wyoming Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso introduced Senate Resolution 623, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary: "RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE OF THE LANDER TRAIL IN THE SETTLEMENT OF THE AMERICAN WEST ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDER TRAIL."
The Lander Trail Foundation was created in 2007 as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the Lander Trail. One of their goals was to build a Lander Trail interpretive center in Afton, and they began fundraising immediately after forming their foundation. All donations to the Lander Trail Foundation are tax deductible.
For more information contact Jermy Wight 307-883-2174:
The Lander Trail Foundation
PO Box 4135
Bedford, WY 83112
Jermy Wight 307-883-2174
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