The Rawlins to Baggs Wagon Road was a historic trail used to freight goods, mail, and passengers between Rawlins, Wyoming and points in southern Wyoming and northwest Colorado. The route was first known as the Rawlins to White River, or the Rawlins to Snake River Road, because the trail was originally used to transport goods and supplies to the Ute Indian White River Agency in western Colorado. There is a strong connection between the trail and the history of the Utes and events leading to the Battle of Milk Creek fought between September 29 and October 5, 1879. The battle, which was located near the White River Agency, was fought between a large band of Utes and four companies of United States Cavalry. The battle was a victory for the army in that it resulted in the forced removal of the Utes from Colorado to Utah. After the removal of the Utes, western Colorado was opened to Euroamerican settlement. The Rawlins to Baggs Road became an important supply route to the new agricultural settlements of Routt and Moffat Counties as well as the sparse settlements of southern Carbon County, Wyoming. The trail saw its greatest use between the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad in Rawlins in 1868 and the completion of the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad to Craig, Colorado in 1913. Today much of the trail has fallen into disuse or has been covered over by modern highways. (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming).
The Rawlins to Baggs Wagon Road in Wyoming followed the modern Twentymile Road south from Rawlins along the base of the west slope of the Atlantic Rim. Approximately 30 miles south of Rawlins, the wagon road crossed Muddy Creek, a large north to south trending tributary of the Little Snake River. Muddy Creek cut its way through the Atlantic Rim in a narrow steep-sided canyon. This canyon was the route for the Overland Trail. The Sulphur Spring Stage Station located at the west end of the canyon was an important stop on the Overland Trail. The Sulphur Spring Stage Station closed in 1868 when stagecoach traffic ended on the Overland Trail due the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. The stage station was repurposed as a cattle and sheep ranch and became an important stop on the Rawlins to Baggs Road. South of Sulphur Spring, the Rawlins to Baggs Road continued along the west side of Atlantic Rim passing the J O Ranch, a sheep and cattle ranch which the Bureau of Land Management owns and has restored as a historic site. North of Baggs the Rawlins to Baggs Road intersected modern State Highway 789 along the valley of Muddy Creek. The route of the Rawlins to Baggs Road follows Highway 789 to a crossing of the Little Snake River at Baggs. The trail continued through Colorado paralleling State Highway 14 where it is known as the Baggs to Craig Road. The trail ran through Craig, Colorado and ended at the town of Meeker which was located within the old Ute White River Agency.
A view of Baggs at the turn of the century. In Wyoming, the only significant town on the Rawlins to Baggs Road south of Rawlins was Baggs. Baggs was the major distribution center for goods from Rawlins to ranches and settlements along the Little Snake River, including Savory and Dixon to the east and a group of ranches along the river valley west of Baggs known as the Darr Settlement. The Darr Settlement was named for its most prominent settler, John Darr, who arrived in the Little Snake valley in 1886. The Darr Settlement straddled the Wyoming/Colorado border and its residents had social and economic ties to both to Baggs, Wyoming and Craig, Colorado. (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming).
