Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site

Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site, located about one mile east of Daniel, Wyoming, is the site of the first Catholic mass in Wyoming. The mass was conducted on July 5, 1840, by Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet. A congregation of 2,000 people, composed of Native Americans, trappers, and traders from the region, attended the service. A stone altar was constructed for the mass and a granite cross enclosed by a small chapel was later added to the altar site. The service was one of the earliest Christian religious ceremonies conducted in the Rocky Mountain region. The Prairie Mass Site lies approximately at the confluence of the Green River and its tributary Horse Creek. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 28, 1970.