Piedmont Charcoal Kilns State Historic Site

The Piedmont Charcoal Kilns in Piedmont, Wyoming are a remnant of a once-extensive charcoal-making industry in southwestern Wyoming. The kilns were built by Moses Byrne around 1869 near the Piedmont Station along the Union Pacific Railroad. The three surviving beehive-shaped kilns were built of local sandstone about in circumference and about high, with -thick walls. A granite marker reads "Charcoal Kilns were built by Moses Byrne, 1869, to supply the pioneer smelters in the Utah Valley" Moses Byrne had settled in Piedmont about 1867. A builder, Byrne had built a number of Pony Express stations and stables. Byrne built five kilns at Piedmont in 1869. Most of Byrne's charcoal was shipped to the area around Salt Lake City (the Utah Valley) for use in small smelters and blacksmith shops. Two kilns have since been destroyed. Piedmont itself is a ghost town. The Piedmont Charcoal Kilns were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. They are managed by the state of Wyoming as Piedmont Charcoal Kilns State Historic Site.