About 20 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, you’ll eventually come across a monument that is just about as in the middle of nowhere as you can get. Located off the highway and not in the direct vicinity of a town or civilization of any kind, the surrounding mountains and emptiness makes this pyramid on the plains a sight that is as surreal as it is serene.
The Ames Monument is a four-sided pyramid that measures about 60 feet high and 60 feet wide. Constructed of light-colored native granite that features two relief sculptures of the Ames brothers, it was intended to honor the memory of a couple Union Pacific Railroad financiers, but it has come to signify and represent something much different.
Repairing and Celebrating a Legacy
President Abraham Lincoln considered the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 that made the building of the Transcontinental Railway possible one of the greatest achievements of his presidency. The coast-to-coast railroad connection would revolutionize the settlement and economy of the American West, and make it possible for goods and people to be transported across the country in a safer and far cheaper way.
Unfortunately, there was little progress with the Union Pacific portion of the line by 1865. It compelled the President to encourage Oakes Ames, who was a member of the Congressional Committee on Railroads, to get involved. With his brother Oliver, the Ames brothers ended up investing their own money in the project and encouraged other capitalists to do the same. Their efforts saw the railroad eventually completed and helped transform the country.
Charges of financial fraud were eventually leveled at Oakes for these dealings, but after enough time had passed, the Union Pacific Railway commissioned the Ames Monument to celebrate the historic moment they helped enable. Built in 1882, it was supposed to serve as a memorial to the Ames brothers and also help repair and celebrate their legacies.
The pyramid features two 9 foot portraits of the Ames brothers on the east and west sides of the pyramid’s top. The phrase, “The Memory of Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames” is engraved on a different side near the top. The monument’s stones at the base are five feet by eight feet and weigh thousands of pounds each. It also features an interior passage that was originally accessible to visitors.
When it was first constructed, the Ames Monument stood near the highest point on the route of the Union Pacific Railroad, but the tracks were rerouted in 1901, which greatly impacted traffic to the area. The Lincoln Highway was later built along the old rail bed, but it was rerouted in 1920, leaving the pyramid that much more inaccessible and isolated. In 1983, Union Pacific donated the monument to the state of Wyoming. Today, the Ames Monument is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained as a Wyoming state historic site.
The isolated nature of the Ames Monument is part of its appeal though, and being at the monument is like being in the past and present simultaneously.
A Timeless Experience
There are small signs along highway I-80 that call out the presence of the Ames Monument at exit 329, and it’s a good thing they do, because it would be difficult to find otherwise. Even after getting off at the correct exit, the Ames Monument is only accessible via a dirt road that twists and turns into the backcountry of Wyoming.
Eventually though, the Ames Monument appears amidst the mountain landscape and looks as if it could be just another mountain. The dirt road takes viewers all the way up to the monument, where they can read about the history of the monument as well as how it was constructed. They can also learn about the town of Sherman, which disappeared once the railroad line did.
It’s simple to walk all the way around the structure, where you can get a good look at the reliefs of the Ames Brothers as well as the humongous stones that comprise the monument. While the interior of the pyramid is no longer accessible to the public, future planned improvements could open up more opportunities at the monument and beyond.
Though not as large or anywhere near as old as some other more famous pyramids, the size of the stones used in the monument are imposing nonetheless, and the 2010 restoration has left the structure in better shape than ever. The imposing nature of the monument is easy to appreciate in the isolation of the backcountry of Wyoming, which looks incredibly similar to the setting the builders of the Transcontinental Railway and the Ames Monument saw all those years ago. It’s easy to connect the past and present in these kinds of places that feel so timeless.
These sensations are part of the reason that the Ames Monument has made an impact on the people who live and come through the area.
Engaging Audiences to Impact the Economy and Culture
Nearby Cheyenne has made an effort to create monuments of their own, but other cities in southern Wyoming have worked to do the same, and the Ames Monument has played a big role in those efforts. It’s a prominent feature in Laramie marketing materials, and the Ames Monument is also called out in literature that highlights some of the attractions in the area for people passing through. It is also one of the highlighted items of the Wyoming State Parks.
The Ames Monument has a history that is inherently linked to the area, and it’s a history that visitors can engage with directly and indirectly. These sorts of options allow tourists and residents to feel much closer to the people and times that helped define the area.
This connection to the area along with the imposing nature of the structure itself are enabling a variety of planned and potential improvements, which could have a major impact on the economy and culture of the area. All of that will be driven by the interest that the monument is able to capture and further influence. The emptiness surrounding the monument could be developed in countless ways, and it’s a process that has already begun in a few spots.
That’s the kind of impact the creators of the Ames Monument had in mind, although the realization of this vision is playing out in a much different way than any of them envisioned.
A Failure Transformed
The Ames Monument was commissioned to transform the legacy of two individuals who helped turn the Transcontinental Railway from an idea into a reality, but it’s difficult to see that endeavor as anything but a failure. Few people know anything about the Ames Brothers, and the shifting of the railroad and highway meant that the monument became that much harder to see or discover.
While these developments have created challenges, they’ve also freed the Ames Monument from the historical trappings that would otherwise be associated with it. Without those burdens, audiences can appreciate the Ames Monument as a fascinating architectural and artistic piece. It’s a combination that can attract residents and tourists in a profound way, and we might just be seeing the beginning of what doing so will do for this entire region.
