Ames Monument

Ames Monument
Ames Monument
LocationAlbany County, Wyoming, 3 mi (4.8 km) NW of Sherman
Nearest cityLaramie, Wyoming
Coordinates41°7′52″N 105°23′53″W / 41.13111°N 105.39806°W / 41.13111; -105.39806
Built1880-1882 (1880-1882)
ArchitectH. H. Richardson
NRHP reference No.72001296
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 24, 1972
Designated NHLOctober 31, 2016
Ames Monument Panorama, September 2011
Ames Monument, seen from Hermosa Road, Albany County, Wyoming, September 2011

The Ames Monument is a large pyramid in Albany County, Wyoming, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and dedicated to brothers Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames Jr., Union Pacific Railroad financiers. It marked the highest point on the first transcontinental railroad, at 8,247 feet (2,514 m).[1]

Henry Hobson Richarson designed the monument midway into his career. [2] He was very much inspired by the 12 centuries of France, Italy's, and Spain's architecture designs. His work was not very known to the public and he did not have a lot of work to do until the 1870, when he helped with Trinity Church and Buffalo asylum. [3]

The town of Sherman rose up around it, but then Union Pacific moved its tracks to the south, leaving Sherman to become a ghost town.

Oliver served as president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1866 to 1871,[4] while Oakes, a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, asserted near-total control of its construction. In 1873, investigators implicated Oakes in fraud associated with financing of the railroad. Congress subsequently censured Oakes, who resigned in 1873[5] and died soon thereafter.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference wyo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ ahcadmin (November 7, 2016). "Ames Monument Named National Historic Landmark". American Heritage Center (AHC) #AlwaysArchiving. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Jadhav, Devendra (November 18, 2020). "Henry Hobson Richardson- 15 Iconic Projects". RTF | Rethinking The Future. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference richardson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ State wants to attract more visitors to railroad monument, by JODI ROGSTAD. Associated Press. December 7, 2006.