Places & Spaces Library

Scandal at the Corthell Farm

Story submitted by the daughter and granddaughter of Ross Hill: Gail Hill Mehle and Melissa Mehle. Photo of the Corthell Barn from the early 1900s. The old Corthell farmhouse and dairy barn still stand in West Laramie off HWY 130. The structures were built in the early 1900’s and contributed to many stories and traditions within the Corthell family. Here…

Jen’s Books (Formerly Converse County Bank)

By Douglas Historic Preservation Board . The building that contains Jen’s book is a single-story brick building formerly served as the Converse County Bank for several decades in the twentieth century. It is significant for its role in the commercial development of Douglas in the twentieth century, as a noteworthy example of bank architecture. The Converse County Assessor’s property record…

Blake/Delfelder House – Riverton, Wyoming

By Judy Pedersen Riverton locals have called this the “Delfelder House” for years, but in reality, it was originally the Blake house. John Wesley Blake probably arrived in Riverton in 1906 although a newspaper article in the Riverton Republican dated October 12, 1907, stated that J.W. Blake and family had arrived in Riverton and would soon be moving into their…

The Wandering Hermit

By Dan Brecht, Owner of the Wandering Hermit Wheatland was founded to serve the farms and ranches that sprung up in the Wheatland Flats after the Wyoming Development Company began its ambitious irrigation project. Gilchrist Avenue, the widest street in the new town, became the preferred location for new businesses springing up between the Colorado and Southern Railroad depot and…

518 Broadway, Thermopolis, Wyoming

In 2017, the Alliance for Historic Wyoming gave a Historic Architecture Assistance Fund grant to the Thermopolis-Hot Springs County Economic Development Company (EDC) to survey a building located at 518 Broadway, Thermopolis, WY. Read more about the project here.

The Durlacher

When driving down 2nd street of downtown Laramie, it’s hard not to notice a big iron storefront on one of the buildings that reads “Simon Durlacher.” The building on 203 S 2nd street has been around since 1872 when it was built by Simon Durlacher, making it one of the oldest buildings on the block.

Hanna’s Community Hall

As Hanna became its own town separate from it’s mining history and endured  more busts, the Community Hall has remained a permanent fixture to this day. It currently houses the Hanna Basin Museum and was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1983.

Who built Fort John?

You can see remnants of the existence of this New Mexican community today in Guernsey. Right next to the Oregon Trail, you’ll see the area where the workers created a home, where they worked the land and became a part of the cultural landscape. This piece of land and history is a reminder of their participation in creating what we know of today as Fort Laramie.

Buffalo Soldiers at Fort D.A. Russell Pt. II

One profile was not enough to talk about the presence of the Buffalo Soldiers or the 9th Cavalry on F.E. Warren. This is the second part to a profile that was written last year, expanding on other parts of base that are connected with the regiments history.

Cowgirl Carnegies

It’s the first post for the Diversity Initiative’s Preservation Month, and what better to start the month than talk about Carnegie Libraries in Wyoming and the women’s clubs that helped make them possible. This profile is written by Andrea Graham, who leads our Cowboy Carnegie program which is a traveling exhibit that has gone to cities throughout Wyoming.

Union Tavern

Though there were shortages, booms, and busts in Hudson, Wyoming one building remained opened through everything, the Union Tavern. The bar was originally built in 1915, and still continues to stand within the small town of Hudson.

Charles F. Swayger Home

In 1905, Swayger built a home on six acres of land at the corner of Randall Avenue and Bent Street in Cheyenne. He built a Georgian Revival influenced house with many unique features of the era. At the time no other house looked like the Swayger home and it gained considerable recognition.

C&H Refinery

On the western edge of Lusk, in eastern Wyoming, sit two hulking cast-iron tanks.The tanks are the heart of C &H Refinery, the world’s smallest operating oil refinery.