Ames Brothers State Historic Site

Visit a large pyramid built and dedicated to brothers Oakes and Oliver Ames in 1882.

The Ames Monument was built to honor the brothers who were Union Pacific Railroad financiers. It sits on the highest point of the First Transcontinental Railroad, at 8,247 feet above sea level. The monument was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. The pyramid is 60 feet by 60 feet, with portraits of each of the brothers' faces chiseled in the stone. The north side of the pyramid has 1 foot high letters grouted in the granite reading, "In Memory of Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames."  

Locally sourced granite rock was used for this monument. A 6-foot tall passageway around the interior saved on labor and materials. In October of 2010, skilled masons opened a passageway so that architects could map it and were sealed soon after the mapping was finished. The town of Sherman rose up around the railroad but was left a ghost town when the Union Pacific moved its tracks to the south. Oliver served as president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1866 to 1871. Oakes was a U.S. representative from Massachusetts. If you're passing through Wyoming, be sure to visit this historic monument.