LINGLE – Nearly 100 community members, dignitaries, families, and friends gathered at the old Lingle rest area, about 1.5 miles east of Lingle on a blustery Thursday afternoon for the dedication of five hand-illustrated historical signs which tell a handful of the event in Goshen County. 

Archaeologist George Zeimens and his wife Geri, worked with Wheatland artist, Barbara Schaffner, Dan Bach, Wyoming State Parks Service Monuments and Markers Coordinator, and other local historians to develop, illustrate, and place historical land markers of the Emigrant Trail, Ranch Rock and Ash Point, Fort Bernard, the Grattan Massacre, and the Texas Trail. 

A short ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the rest area where the Zeimens and crew invited the public to a reception at the Lingle Community Center where Schaffner explained to the crowd how she developed the illustration for each of the markers, citing the importance of the knowledge she obtained from George. She also expressed her sincere gratitude to the Zeimens for including her in the project. 

During the reception, George commented he enjoyed working with Schaffner, recalling she had asked multiple questions while the two toured the locations Schaffner depicted in her paintings. 

“The Art of the Trade: Fort Bernard,” “One Step at a Time: The Emigrant Trail,”  “A High Price to Pay for a Cow: The Grattan Massacre,” “In His Glory: Rock Ranch/Ash Point,” and “To Build an Empire: The Texas Trail,”  can all be seen at the Lingle Turn-Out, approximately 1.5 miles east of Lingle.