An American Ghost Town: Hawk Springs, Wyoming

On Highway 85 heading North from Cheyenne, just past Bear Mountain, a sign reads, Hawk Springs, Population 50. The sign proves to be out dated and a string of small buildings are located along the corridor. Some of the houses lay in shambles, but a few have trimmed yards with some residents living in them. It is just one of the many small towns in Goshen County that have vanished. Much of the history on these communities have died along with its population. Stories and photos have neither been passed down or have been disregarded with the passing of time. Photos from Hawk Springs past could be out there, with the descendants of those who lived there. Many of whom, probably have no clue to where they came from.

Thinking back through the years, I remember walking the streets of Hawk Springs, Wyoming and dreaming of a time that once was. I could imagine the streets filled with people on horses, carriages, and on foot, making their way to the local stores, train depot, schools, or to the neighbors. Those days, however, had come and gone even before my time. I grew up in Hawk Springs, even then, there was the Longbranch Saloon, a gas station, and even a garage. Even now those things have gone. Now the town sits with a few residents, but the businesses have all closed.

Most of my days I spent wandering the old town, playing in the park, or visiting with some of the elderly residents. I would chat with the Whites, Koneshs, Gregorys, Minnie Hill, or the Marlatts. These folks lived in Hawk Springs since they were kids. Walt Gregory had a plaque on his wall which stated he graduated from the Hawk Springs Kindergarten class. I too had the same plaque. I guess I was the last class of kindergarten. Walt was probably about 70 years old when I talked to him. He ran the gas station on the highway, it was called Walt's station, but the old sign said Standard Oil.

Right next to Walt's station was Mr. Baker's Garage, the old faded sign read, DeSoto. The building was the old DeSoto sales and garage. Inside the garage smelled of gar and oil, but the interior looked as a museum. On the walls were photos of the old Desoto building, old Desoto photos and a pin up calender from 1945. The Calender had a portrait of a young lady with a car behind her.

Across from Mr. Baker's Garage was a park. I remember back in 77 there was the train depot, but it was moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming and turned into a house. Right by the park was the main street, and on the other side was an old restaurant/hotel, fire department, post office, a vacant structure, old grocery, and a couple of vacant lots. Up a couple of streets was the old lumber yard, about another block or so was the old church the community building which was the old elementary school, caticornered was the old high school and about another block was the old truck stop/Sally's Cafe/Longbranch. Heading back down to the main street was another old gas station. Not much really to speak about, maybe except for the memories of the old timers which lived there.

Mrs. Konesh would always be in the yard with his husband, planting flowers, tilling the soil or burning old branches from the enormous trees which engulfed the yard. They would offer lemonade as I would make my way down the street. I'd sit with the couple and they would tell me about the days when Hawk Springs was a busy little town. The couple owned the pool hall/bar which was located in one of the empty lots on main street. Many of the men would come play pool and drink in the 40's and was a gathering place for the residents. The old Hawk Springs Bank was located next door to the hall. These two buildings had burned down in 1954. I was enthralled with the idea this was once a vibrant town. I could only wish the school was still there so I didn't have to ride the bus for two hours to get to the school I went to school over in Yoder or maybe have a friend to associate with. Mrs. Konesh also remembered as a child that this was not the original site for the town. She remembered the people packing up their stuff and rebuilding the town. The waters of the Hawk Springs Reservoir have since covered the town. A dam had been built to create the water district for the farmers. They had used the original site for the lake and the cool waters enveloped the town. Under the water lay the old cemetery and all the headstones still lie beneath. Many of the original structures had been moved to the new Hawk Springs site. She remembered the men dragging the old church to it's new site. The residents all rejoiced when they finally opened the church again.

During the 40's and 50's, the Hawk Springs school always was a rival for the LaGrange School. The people would support the schools and come out to watch every game. When the Hawk Springs Hawks would play the LaGrange Longhorns they would have a full stadium. Next to the old high school was a baseball stadium with it bleachers and diamond mound. The structure is no longer there, however, the ghosts of yesteryear can be heard in the Wyoming wind as it blows across the area. The team was comprised of the Marlatt brothers, Walt Gregory, and the star pitcher was Doug Yates. Mrs. Konesh could remember watching every game played. She had even wished she could go out with the boys and play on the field.

Marlatt once opened the building next to the post office. It contained some of the memorabilia from the school. The pennants of the Hawk Springs Hawks was stored on a shelf, the yearbooks were stacked and a large assortment of stuff from the school were collecting dust.

About a half a block from behind the post office is a pit. The old pit I remember was used for burning rubbish. The smoke would fill the area. I would sit at the edge of the pit. The residents used to tell the pit was the basement for the old movie house. The old building had been burned down several years before the bank. However, they could remember seeing some great classics. When the old Chapman grocery store caught fire in the early 80's, the contents of the store was dumped into the old pit. I remember rummaging through and finding old wrapped candy. A case of pop rocks was still in it's package. The Valentine brothers lived in Hawk Springs at the time and we split the case.

The Valentines moved to Hawk Springs with their mother to be close to her parents, the Lemasters. The Lemasters were Cal and Virginia who owned the Longbranch. The Longbranch was located at the old truck stop along the Highway 85. The longbranch was built on the old site of Sally's Cafe at the truck stop. The old cafe was an old trailer. I remember the booths were red leather and at every table was a red phone.

Cindy Bath, was a waitress at the stop. I remember going in and ordering pancakes. I also remember the cafe burning down. It seems the town has had a lot of fires to it's local businesses. I guess the sign of times means fires occur frequently. The Longbranch was built and a bar was added to the site. The cafe was in the front and the back housed the steak house for the evening customers. The other side of the cafe was the old motel which had been there before Sally's Cafe. I remember reading an article from the Torrington Telegram, the Longbranch burned down, again, in about 2004.

The 1970's the town was a place for travelers to stop and fuel up and head north or south, which ever one might be headed. Some on the way to Cheyenne or up to South Dakota. Interstate 25 was not the way people took. Highway 85 was the main road either direction. August was a especially busy for the area. Bikers from all over would stop at Hawk Springs and camp out on the way to Sturgis. They would make camp in the park and drink the night away at the Longbranch. Teen girls of the area would come to town, if they wanted a bit of excitement; even some of the house wives would partake in the biker festivities.


As a child I remember we had a visitor, a middle aged man came to our door. He asked if he could come in a chat for a bit. He told he had grown up in the house we were living. He had said the house had not change much. His father had built the front part of the house and the row of trees in the back were planted by his grandfather. He could remember his grandmother telling him the house was once the Hawk Springs dance hall. The floors were carpeted in red, but we tore up the carpet and found the old woodblock.