Gebo Ghost Town and Cemetery, Hot Springs County, Wyoming

Gebo Ghost Town and Cemetery, Hot Springs County, Wyoming
N 43 47.511 W 108 14.407
1/4 Section 10, Twp 44N, R95W

This town was named for Samuel W. Gebo, who was a developer of the coal mines here in the 1880’s. Gebo, Wyoming was an active town for 32 years, 1906-1938. In 1929 there were about 1200 employees and families living in the area with over 600 employed in the coal mines of Gebo. Thus, these deaths represent only a few of those that must have occurred at Gebo, Wyoming and Crosby, Wyoming (the closest town to Gebo). The first car of coal was loaded at Gebo on August 27, 1907, and there were no more paychecks to miners after 1932. The coal mines were closed in 1938.

In 1971, an event occurred, upsetting some Hot Springs County residents, when what remained of the town of Gebo was leveled by the Federal Bureau of Land Management. It is now a ghost town, but still interesting to visit. Remnants remain here and there, including the remains of a stone house built on a rocky ledge. The Gebo cemetery remains mostly intact.

There is a short historical review of the town of Gebo by Mary Hanssen, a Gebo Resident. It is recorded in the Thermopolis Independent Record Newspaper; June 21, 1979 issue.

There is a Master’s Degree paper written about Gebo. It is titled, The Social Interaction Among The Residents of Gebo, Wyoming by Iris K. Guyn, 1971. It was presented at Black Hills State College, Graduate Division and a copy is kept at the Hot Springs County Library. It has some interesting information about immigration patterns in Gebo.

This is an isolated, small, kept-as-well-as-can-be cemetery, but well fenced for protection from livestock. Many of the headstones can be read and identified, although some have deteriorated. Some gravesites do not have a headstone. To reach the cemetery from Worland, travel South on US Hwy 20, about 22 miles, until you reach the crossroad to the town of Kirby. Turn to the right, or West, on Sand Draw Road, Hot Springs County Road #18, the sign of which is well shot up with bullet holes. Follow the pavement for 1.3 miles to a “y” in the road. Bear left, on Hot Springs County Rod #30. This sign is even more shot full of holes than the former sign. Continue for another 1.3 miles, passing the old ruins of the town of Gebo and you will see a fenced-in area with the gravestones and a little “doghouse” style grave marker inside. This cemetery can be reached by regular automobile.

The cemetery used to be much larger, extending to the east. In the 40’s and 50’s many graves were moved by family members, and the cemetery was fenced to its current size.

Gebo Cemetery Transcription