Ames Monument
.jpg?width=480)
Ames Monument is a historic site in Wyoming, at a modelled elevation of 2,525 m. Green Mountain stands 2,818 m to the southwest, 17 miles off. The nearest named place is Nat's Three Star Roof, a cliff 2.0 miles away. Cache la Poudre--North Park passes 30 miles off.
The story
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). Richardson designed the monument midway into his career. His work was largely unknown to the public until around 1870, when he helped design Trinity Church and the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. 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, 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 and died soon thereafter.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1880s.
Wikidata Q4745876, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 30.0 mi off the Cache la Poudre--North Park
Named places within 25 miles
- Poland Hill: 2.5 mi
- Vedauwoo: 2.7 mi
- Reynolds Hill: 3.7 mi
- Natural Fort: 3.8 mi
- Egbert Hill: 4.1 mi
- Devils Playground: 3.6 mi
- Imperial Heights Park: 13.5 mi
- Rotary Clubs Park: 13.6 mi
- LaPrele Park: 14.7 mi
- Washington Park: 15.1 mi
- Nat's Three Star Roof: 2.0 mi
- The Potato Chip: 2.0 mi
- Walt's Wall: 2.4 mi
- The Coke Bottle: 2.4 mi
- The Clamshell: 2.5 mi
- Wyoming Cowboy: 15.1 mi
- Breakin' Through: 15.2 mi
- Octogon Graffiti Umbrella: 15.2 mi
- Cowboy Tough: 15.3 mi
- Fanning a Twister: 15.4 mi
- Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument: 7.6 mi
- Fort Sanders Guardhouse: 14.2 mi
- Vietnam Memorial: 15.8 mi
- Matthew Shepard Memorial: 15.8 mi
- Sherman Summit: 7.5 mi
- Hecla: 11.8 mi
- Virginia Dale: 12.5 mi
- Simpson Springs: 10.3 mi
- Soldier Spring: 11.3 mi
- Pope Springs: 11.9 mi
- Laramie Plains Museum: 16.0 mi
- Laramie Historic Railroad Depot and Museum: 16.0 mi
- Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site: 16.6 mi
- Tree Rock: 2.7 mi
- "W" Marker: 16.4 mi
- Blair Picnic Site: 4.0 mi
- Hidden Falls: 7.4 mi
- Penstemon Garden: 16.0 mi
- Soapstone Prairie Natural Area: 20.2 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 21.5 miles of Ames Monument. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Mountain | SW 226° | 2,818 m | 17.0 mi |
| Deadhorse Mountain | SW 220° | 2,762 m | 15.9 mi |
| Pole Mountain | N 3° | 2,751 m | 7.0 mi |
| Leg Benchmark | N 1° | 2,749 m | 7.0 mi |
| Crow Benchmark | NNW 342° | 2,708 m | 7.4 mi |
| Pilot Hill | NNW 347° | 2,691 m | 12.7 mi |
| Point Crawford | N 2° | 2,673 m | 5.6 mi |
| Green Mountain | NNE 21° | 2,651 m | 4.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:06 | 18:38 | 19:14 |
| June solstice | 05:30 | 19:57 | 20:38 |
| September equinox | 06:50 | 18:24 | 19:00 |
| December solstice | 07:24 | 15:52 | 16:37 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 28 | 28 | 35 | 41 | 50 | 60 | 67 | 65 | 57 | 45 | 35 | 27 |
| Precip in | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Hecla 1E, 12 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
National Register of Historic Places, reference 72001296OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- National Register of Historic Places — Ames Monument, reference 72001296, listed 07/24/72.
OpenStreetMap element way/103618201
Take the scenic way to Ames Monument.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.