Tag Archives: Local history

Glimpses into the Iron Ore Mining Past of Sunrise, Wyoming

The Sunrise Mine and Town Site Photo Album offers a look at operations at the Sunrise Iron Ore Mine and the town of Sunrise, Wyoming, from 1899 to 1920. Sunrise, Wyoming, was a company mining town, founded in 1899 by … Continue reading →

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Butch Cassidy and Beyond: Inside Wyoming’s Historic Territorial Prison

As buildings sprung up in Laramie, the former “Hell on Wheels” town, a new imposing stone structure shadowed the landscape. With construction starting in 1872, the Territorial Prison opened its doors to inmates in January 1873, while construction still continued. … Continue reading →

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Cementing a Relationship: How Concrete brought New Mexicans to Wyoming

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was one event that led to Hispanics first settling in Wyoming, as it brought the U.S. Army into Wyoming. Only shortly after the war ended, the United States sent the Regiment of Mounted Rifles to occupy … Continue reading →

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Tracing Tracks: Laramie’s Railroad History

On May 4, 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad reached Laramie, bringing with it new people, and within a few days, regular train service to Laramie. A “Hell on Wheels” tent town soon became a bustling city with permanent structures. Over … Continue reading →

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All Things Wyoming: The Wyoming Pioneers Oral History Project

In 2014, the American Heritage Center completed a project funded by a generous grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. The largest part of the project was to digitize the Wyoming Pioneers Oral History interviews which were recorded during the … Continue reading →

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Votes for Women! Remembering Carrie Chapman Catt, Suffragist

Agnes Wright Spring (1894-1988), a protégé of University of Wyoming professor and librarian Dr. Grace Raymond, published a wonderful set of anecdotes in 1981 titled Near the Greats. Through her years as a prominent historian in both Wyoming and Colorado, … Continue reading →

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“Wild Bill” Carlisle: Last Train Robber of the American West

Train passengers leaving Green River, Wyoming, on February 9, 1916 riding the Union Pacific Railroad’s Portland Rose found themselves confronted by a young man hiding his face with a white kerchief who demanded their money at gunpoint. But the youngster … Continue reading →

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Mileva Maravic remembers Prohibition in Gebo, Wyoming

The coal-mining town of Gebo was established in 1907 about twelve miles north of Thermopolis in Hot Springs County. It was named after Samuel Wilford Gebo who established the Owl Creek Coal Company and the first mine in the area after … Continue reading →

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Remembering UW’s Preparatory School: A Historical Retrospect

The Preparatory School at UW was organized “for the benefit of students from counties not provided with complete high school courses.” The 1887-1898 University Catalogue also states, “As soon as the various towns of the state possess well equipped high … Continue reading →

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Mary O’Hara: “My Heart is in Wyoming”

Could successful screenwriter and socialite Mary O’Hara exchange her glitzy lifestyle for that of a Wyoming ranch wife? Her friends didn’t think so. But by 1930 Mary had hit her mid-forties and was fed up with her gilded life. She … Continue reading →

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