The Sidney-Black Hills Trail
Posted by: 
NevaP
N 42° 19.379 W 103° 16.411
13T E 642259 N 4687081
This marker stands along the route of a major freight wagon stagecoach trail.
Waymark Code: WM4HR7
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 08/27/2008
Views: 42
The text of the marker reads:
Beginning in 1874 thousands of freight wagons and stagecoaches passed here along the Sidney-Black Hills Trail. The route first supplied the Sioux at Red Cloud Agency on the White River and the troops at adjacent Camp Robinson. The southern terminus of the trail was at Sidney, Nebraska, on the Union Pacific Railroad.
The 1874 discovery of gold in the Black Hills soon gave the trail new importance. Within two years it had been extended to Deadwood and other settlements in the Black Hills. Until about 1880 much of the freight for these mining camps was shipped from Sidney over this route. The peak 1878-1879 trade was estimated at more than twenty-two million pounds.
Three stagecoach stations were located along the trail in this region. To the south were Snake Creek Station and Halfway Hollow, while a few miles north was the Running Water Station on the Niobrara River. When Box Butte County was settled in the 1880's, several sod buildings including a store and post office were built a mile north of here. Czech settlers erected a Catholic Church nearby in 1888. The church cemetery remains, a symbol of the heritage of these pioneer settlers.
Box Butte County Historical Society
Nebraska State Historical Society
Hwy. 2, west of Hemingford, north side
Box Butte County
Marker 161
Marker Name: The Sidney Black Hills trail
Roadside: yes
Web Address if available:: [Web Link]
City: Not Listed
Other: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
Post Pictures:
1. Close up of historical marker
2. Picture of surrounding area (would prefer to have the marker in the picture also). Thanks!