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.
Rock Springs’ Slovenski Dom has served as the social and cultural heart of Rock Springs’ Slovenian community for over 100 years. This building is a great representation of the preservation of immigrant history within the state, and an important example of repurposing and using old buildings not leaving them dormant.
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.