[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 157 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           150TH ANNIVERSARY OF INCORPORATION OF GREEN RIVER

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, this weekend we will celebrate the 150th 
anniversary of the day that Green River, WY, became an incorporated 
municipality.
  Green River's history is rich and full of national significance. The 
founding of Green River predates Wyoming's statehood by 22 years. Green 
River was founded when the area was still a part of the Dakota 
Territory in 1868.
  Like many other towns across Southern Wyoming, Green River was 
founded during the race to unite the world's first transcontinental 
railroad. The railroad had the power to create a town along the route; 
2,000 people resided in Green River when it was incorporated in 1868. 
Today, 2,000 people is still a good-sized town by Wyoming standards.
  The railroad also had the power to destroy a town. There were many 
ghost towns left in Wyoming as the railroad moved on. Green River 
shrank to just 101 residents when the railroad moved its junction 12 
miles west forming Bryan, WY, on the banks of the Blacks Fork River. 
Green River was on the verge of becoming a ghost town when a drought 
caused the Blacks Fork to run dry. Dependent on a water source, the 
railroad moved the junction back to Green River. Bryan became the ghost 
town while Green River became the Sweetwater County seat.
  The junction turned out to be a major stopover point for passenger 
traffic on the railroad. Movie stars would stop in Green River to 
change trains on their way from Hollywood to Sun Valley, ID. Even 
today, every few minutes, a train rumbles through Green River, 
connecting one side of the United States to the other.
  The ideal of Manifest Destiny is one we hold dear as Americans. That 
ideal and the spirit of exploration is rooted in the history of Green 
River. Major John Wesley Powell came to Green River in May of 1869 to 
launch an exploration trip. The goal was to map the entire Green and 
Colorado River basin for the first time. This voyage would end up being 
one of the most significant in American history. Major Powell lost his 
right arm serving his country as an Army officer during the Civil War. 
That did not stop him from leading nine men and four boats down the 
river in 1869 and again in 1871.
  Previous to Powell's voyage, the area he would map was regarded as 
the last area of land in the continental United States that was 
unexplored. This all started in the town of Green River, which was less 
than a year old when the major departed on this first trip.
  Major John Wesley Powell spoke passionately before he embarked. He 
spoke directly about the massive voyage he was about to undertake into 
the unknown. ``We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river 
to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the 
channel, we know not, what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, 
Well! We may conjecture many things.'' His words live on today, not 
only to describe the voyage he was on, but to describe the voyage that 
the town of Green River was just beginning.
  After the railroad helped establish Green River, other industries 
flourished. Sweetwater County became a major producer of coal and oil. 
A few years later, a mineral named trona would be discovered just 
outside Green River. The process and technology to refine trona into 
soda ash would drastically change the economy of Green River. The Green 
River Basin is now known as the Trona Capital of the World. It is a 
fact that the natural resources we have in Wyoming are a blessing.
  Like Major John Wesley Powell said, ``We have an unknown river to 
explore and an unknown distance to cover.'' Over the past 150 years, 
the city of Green River has covered an impressive amount of distance 
down that unknown river.
  As Green River marks 150 years of incorporation, I encourage my 
colleagues to join me in celebrating Green River's rich heritage and 
history that provides a truly wonderful experience to those who call it 
home.

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