History of Grant Street Grocery Excerpt taken from Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Casper experienced an oil boom period that began in 1913-14 and continued well into the next decade. The major oil companies established their headquarters in Casper, providing employment and injecting capital into the local economy. The population of 2,639 in 1910 nearly doubled in the next five…
Photo of the Guernsey State Park Museum from Guernsey State Park Facebook Guernsey State Park is unusual because of the historic integrity of the CCC buildings and features within the park. The historic portions of the park have been left unmodified since they were constructed in the 1930s. Nowhere is this more evident than at the park museum. The museum building…
Hanna, Wyoming The Lincoln Highway once took multiple routes through Hanna. Today the town is nearly bypassed via Highway 30 to the south. The Lincoln Highway Association, 2012-20 Hanna’s history stems from the nearby ghost town of Carbon. When the Union Pacific Coal Mines at Carbon began producing less coal, surveyors began tracking down new potential sites. A location known…
History of 217 S Gillette Ave (Currently known as EK Jewelers) The building was built in 1932 according to the County Assessor’s records. However, other records show this building built in 1926 by the Taft family who operated the Taft Bakery there from that time until around 1945. At that time Mr. Connie Allen bought the Taft Bakery equipment and…
EXPLORING HIDDEN HISTORY ON THE TOWN SQUARE By Samantha Ford and the Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum, with Michael McCoy Original Article found here. Visitors come to Jackson Hole for many reasons, including the abundant outdoor recreation, scenic views, and wildlife. A less known delight: exploring the town, which can unlock many exciting and notable historical stories. When…
Knight Hall History Knight Hall (1941): Original Negative: Knight Hall, University of Wyoming, 1941, University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Ludwig Svenson Collection, negative number 34153.1 Located on the University of Wyoming campus, Knight Hall began construction in 1940 and was completed in 1941 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building served as a women’s dormitory and was named…
(Article from SAH Archipedia written by Fred Chapman) Located approximately 30 miles northwest of Thermopolis, the quarter-mile-long Legend Rock Petroglyph Site is one of the largest accessible rock art sites in the U.S. The site is located along the northern terraces and vertical sandstone cliffs of Cottonwood Creek in the southwestern Bighorn Basin. Legend Rock features 55 separate rock panels…
Downstairs in this building was John A. Thompson, Furniture and Undertaking. Courtesy of Hot Springs County Museum History of Malta Lodge #17 Excerpt from History of the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of Wyoming 1874 -1974. The city of Thermopolis was founded about 1897 when that area was first settled. It is on the Big Horn River…
Medicine Bow, Wyoming Virginian Hotel, Front Exterior, Post Card Collection. Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources Medicine Bow, Wyoming became well known as the setting for Owen Wister’s book The Virginian. Prior to its literary acclaim, and even before the Union Pacific passed through town, Medicine Bow operated as a tie hacking site where ties were…
Parco/Sinclair, Wyoming “Panorama of the Parco fire department with firemen and fire trucks posed in front of the Parco Hotel” University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Frank J. Meyers papers, Accession Number 5195, Box 12B, Folder 134 Today, the Sinclair Oil Refinery juts from the landscape like a memento to Wyomings natural resource industry. Just north of Interstate 80, travelers…
History of 851 Gilchrist Street According to the Platte County Tax Assessor, the building was constructed in 1948. The 1903 Sandborn map depicts a small, one-story building at this location; it appears that between 1912 and 1918. It was razed and replaced by the preset-day 2-story building. In 1918, the building housed a post office. In the 1920s, it contained…
Built in 1962 as a Minuteman 1 site, Quebec #1 was re-purposed for the Peacekeeper Missile in 1986 and was used until 2005. Twenty-five miles north of Cheyenne, this facility will eventually be the only one of its kind left in the world, which is why Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails is seeking to bring the facility into…
Rock River, Wyoming Panoramic view of Downtown Rock River (First National Bank left of center) Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources Similar to other communities along this route, the town of Rock River emerged from the Union Pacific Railroad. By 1899 the town had multiple businesses that served “surveyors, timbermen, coal miners and other workers associated…
History of Sweetwater County Historical Museum Excerpt taken from Sweetwater County Historic Museum The current site of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum was first built in 1931 as the post office and first federal building in Green River. James A. Wetmore served as the supervising architect. It remained the post office until the new one was built in 1980. It…
Walcott, Wyoming Walcott Hotel, 1922 University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Lora Webb Nichols Papers, Accession Number 01005, Box 6, #4680 The Town of Walcott was not added to The Complete Official Road Guide to the Lincoln Highway until its 3rd edition in 1918. This may be due to the fact that the highway never directly passed through the town.…
Wyoming Hall By Cameron Weishoff Wyoming Hall was completed in 1951 and is located on the Northeast side of the University of Wyoming campus. It was built during a time where many veterans from the Second World War began to influx the student population on the UW campus. The dormitory was also the proposed home to UW athletes throughout the…
Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site Listed on the National Register, the Wyoming Territorial Prison was a United States Federal Penitentiary in 1872 and later became Wyoming’s first State Penitentiary. Territorial Governor John Campbell, in his first message to the Legislature, pointed out the necessity of a penal institution to care for the lawbreakers of the new territory. Wyoming Territory…
Remembering Barbara Dobos, 1929-2021 By Mary Humstone, founding board member We were saddened to learn that Barbara Dobos, co-founder of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming, died this past spring. Barbara was a teacher, legislator and activist who became involved in historic preservation to protect the public lands at Martin’s Cove along the Oregon/California/Mormon Trail. She and Lesley Wischmann formed the…
Through the Ages: Saving Wyoming’s Historic Mining Heritage By: Gina Clingerman Nestled at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains in central Wyoming is a collection of log structures, cabins, saloons, and mills that were once part of the bustling South Pass and Lewiston Mining Districts. The buildings are mute sentinels of time, silently watching countless generations ebb and…
By Carrie I. Edinger, Historical Educator & Events Coordinator, Sheridan Community Land Trust The Sheridan Inn is a historical treasure to Sheridan, Wyoming and the building represents a rich local history and American western legends. The inn is a 145-foot-long, three-story, L-shaped structure that was designed by Thomas Rogers Kimball, an architect of Omaha, Nebraska. Kimball’s plan for the Sheridan…
By Melissa Mehle, Editor Wow. A destination that starts with a winding country road and gives no hint of the serene scenic hideaway that lies ahead. The park is located about 2 miles south of the Oregon Trail, 11 miles West of Douglas, WY on County Road 13. The span at the bottom of the bridge is about 150 ft…