The town of South Pass City is not exactly what you would expect from a ghost town. While the city is no longer in operation, it has a rich history. Its mining district produced the most wealth, which led to the population peaking at one hundred people in 1868. But the boom only lasted two years. There was a brief revival of the town, and it was once home to saloons and hotels. Today, it is home to a few birds.
When the town began, it was a stage and freight station on the Oregon Trail. It later became a Pony Express station, and later became Burnt Ranch. During its boom, it was home to the state's first female Justice of the Peace. But by the end of the century, the city's population had dropped considerably.
As a result of the gold rush, South Pass City's population plummeted. The costs involved in recovering gold made it too expensive for most miners to continue. The town had a population of less than one hundred people by the mid-1870s. As the town's economy slowed, most shops closed and the town became a ghost town. The State of Wyoming purchased the town in 1966.
Despite the town's small size, the town was an important part of Wyoming's political history. Its characters fought for the rights of women and were sensitive to issues of equality. In 1869, South Pass City native William Bright introduced a bill to allow women to vote in the U.S. territories. The county's commissioners also appointed local woman Esther Morris as the country's first female judge.