On the western edge of the University of Wyoming campus stands a largely forgotten monument to a former Cowboy. The Lowell O’Bryan monument is an unassuming stone drinking fountain located directly west of Old Main. It bears a plaque that reads “He gave himself to insure the safety of others.”
The first library in Cheyenne was located in Central School in a relatively small room. As the town grew and its needs multiplied, a committee to build a new library was established in 1900, and two years later, Cheyenne had a Carnegie Library.
The $64,000 monument project was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and was completed in 1882. It features two bas-relief sculptures of the Ames brothers, Oakes on the east side and Oliver on the west
Hynds Lodge, built by Cheyenne businessman Harry P. Hynds in 1922 for $25,000, was constructed as a lodge at the recreation camp for the Boy Scouts of America. Hynds came to Cheyenne in 1882 and worked as a blacksmith for the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Line before acquiring several gambling saloons and making a fortune.
Chinese workers who lived in Chinatown in Rock Springs were attacked in 1885 and the neighborhood was destroyed. Unlike the buildings, the history and stories of their community was not lost.
Mt. Sinai synagogue has provided a space for the Jewish community since 1915, when the original cornerstone was laid on Pioneer avenue and 20th Street.
The First Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church on August 13th, 1884, conducting services in Scandinavian languages. Newly arriving immigrants who were experiencing the same cultural changes were able to support each other in the shared space of the church.
Susan Wissler was born in Broadhead, Minnesota in 1853 and would become the first female mayor in Wyoming.
On July 4, 1867, the Union Pacific railroad established its headquarters in the area that would later become Cheyenne. The U.S. Cavalry followed them weeks later to establish Fort D.A. Russell. There wouldn’t be a high concentration of Buffalo Soldiers on the base until 1902 after the Philippine Insurrection.
The school was originally built in 1922 as North Casper School. Thanks to the Casper Housing Authority and the VA, the old Roosevelt High School will continue to be a neighborhood center for another hundred years.