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| Ada Magill's gravesite |
The grave of this three year old child has been a survivor. Moved in 1912 to avoid highway construction, a railway spur line now runs close to the head of the grave. But little Ada remains safe and secure in her grave, well marked by a 1912 Oregon Trail marker, a Pony Express marker and now an interpretive marker placed by OCTA in July 1987. The grave is located on public lands five miles west of Glenrock, Wyoming. To reach it, take the second (west) Glenrock exit off of I-25 and follow US 20/26 for about .7 mile until you come to a dirt road. Turn north on the gravel road. After going about 1/10 of a mile, turn west and the grave is about 100 yards down this road, just before the road crosses some railroad tracks.
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Caleb and Nancy Magill with their six children were part of a wagon train traveling from Brown County, Kansas to Dallas, Oregon in 1864. After leaving Fort Laramie, their three year old daughter Ada was taken sick with dysentery. At Deer Creek Station she worsened. An hour before dawn on July 3, 1864, Ada died. In "Sunday best tiny calico dress," she was buried on a small rise of ground just south of here.
In 1912, a new highway under construction was to have passed directly over Ada's grave. Her remains were moved thirty feet north to this spot. Wyoming's state engineer, Loren Clark Bishop, fashioned the headstone which now marks the final resting place of this pioneer child.
The Oregon Trail is about fifty feet south of this spot.
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