Category Archives: Laramie

Designing the University of Wyoming: Merica Hall

Welcome back to our series exploring the University of Wyoming’s building history. In these posts, we’re digging into the narratives behind UW’s most iconic structures. When UW opened for classes on September 12, 1887, no campus housing was available. Students … Continue reading

Posted in architectural history, Architecture, Campus Heritage, Historic Buildings, Laramie, Student Life, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Madam’s Scrapbook: Remnants of Laramie’s Red-Light District

On the corner of the town stands a crazy, tumble-down rookery, full from cellar to shingles of liquors, gambling devices and everything that can be used to corrupt and rob men. Ruffians and tin-horn gamblers make night and day hideous … Continue reading

Posted in Laramie, Local history, Prostitution, Toppan Rare Books Library, Uncategorized, Western history, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Room for the Year: The University of Wyoming’s Early Attempts to Provide Student Housing

When the University of Wyoming opened its doors to students on September 6, 1887, university officials had to consider housing for the students arriving from outside Laramie. Due to low enrollment and the fact that most students were from Laramie, … Continue reading

Posted in architectural history, Architecture, Construction, Laramie, Student Life, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Serving UW for 70 years: A Brief History of Wyoming Hall

After World War II, the University of Wyoming experienced tremendous growth across campus. Construction projects were a response to the rapid increase in student numbers, which was heavily influenced by the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or the G.I. Bill … Continue reading

Posted in architectural history, Architecture, Built environment, Laramie, Post World War II, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Frontier Life Chronicles: The Legacy of Mable Wyoming Cheney Moudy

Mable Wyoming Cheney was born on May 2, 1878, in Atlantic City, near South Pass, Wyoming. Her father, Ervin F. Cheney (1844-1922), came west to Fort Sanders as a soldier after the Civil War. He helped survey the town of … Continue reading

Posted in Biography and profiles, Laramie, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Western history, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Laramie’s Latin American Club

September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. Wyoming has a historically significant Hispanic and Manito population, some of whom came and went for work while others made Wyoming their home. Spanish-speaking people from northern New Mexico, called … Continue reading

Posted in Immigration, Laramie, Local history, Manitos, Mexican-American history, Uncategorized, Under-documented communities, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wyoming’s Woodmen of the World

I’ve walked through Laramie’s Greenhill Cemetery many times over the years and have been curious about the headstones carved to look like tree stumps. I finally decided to do a little research. You may already know this, but each intricately … Continue reading

Posted in community collections, Laramie, Local history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Putting the Women Back into Women’s Suffrage

In 1869, Wyoming passed its groundbreaking woman suffrage law. Wyoming’s women were voting and holding public office decades before the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Indeed, the successful implementation of woman suffrage in Wyoming and other western states was critical … Continue reading

Posted in grants, Laramie, Local history, Suffrage -- United States, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, Women -- suffrage, women's history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

From Fandom to Fanfiction to Nonfiction: Researching the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary

In 2008, when I rediscovered Alias Smith and Jones (ASJ), a 1970s TV show I watched as a kid, I had no idea that several years later I’d be writing a book about the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary.  Revisiting ASJ on … Continue reading

Posted in grants, Laramie, Local history, motion picture history, Research grants, television history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Ranching Roots: Exploring Laramie’s Livestock Legacy

While the railroad was the main hub of employment early in Laramie’s history, the cattle and sheep businesses helped grow the economy of the burgeoning town. Names such as Philip Mandel, Thomas Alsop, Charles Hutton, Robert Homer, and the Bath … Continue reading

Posted in Agricultural history, Agriculture, Laramie, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment