PHOTOS: Travel in Time to the Gold Rush Days in Wyoming’s South Pass City

Gold Rush Days in South Pass City, Wyoming will transport you straight to the late 1800s.

Every year, people come from far and wide to celebrate the once-bustlin' little mining town.

The festivities include reenactments of the pony express, gun fights, and an old baseball-game in antiquated uniform.

Folks swill sarsaparilla from glass bottles and stop in to the bake sale for homemade pie.

Others stoop down into the river to try their hand at panning for gold.

Every hour an anvil launches into the sky--an old timey tradition that rural communities adopted for celebrating special events.

Gold was discovered in the area in 1866 and the mine opened a year later.

The town rapidly grew to about 2,000 residents.

Within 10 years, the population dwindled to about 100. Gone was the plethora of gold that had once been, leaving behind abandoned homes, a mercantile, saloon, prison...

By the end of the 20th century, the ghost town was developed into a historic site for tourism.

In 1970, the community was added to the National Register of Historic Places.