David L. Darr, president of the Bighorn County Bank of Basin, has been identified with the business development of northwestern Wyoming since August. 1897, or for a period of more than twenty-one years. He was born in Ipava, Fulton county, Illinois, January 7, 1856, a son of G. B. and Harriet (Meredith) Darr, who were natives of Pennsylvania and were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Both the father and mother were the youngest children in large families and David L. Darr is the seventh in order of birth in a family of eight children. The father removed westward with his family and followed blacksmithing and farming as a life work. Both he and his wife died in Nebraska, the former at the age of eighty-one years and the latter when seventy-six years of age.
    David L. Darr acquired a public school education in Illinois and was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He continued to work in the fields until twenty-two years of age, when he became connected with general merchandising at Redbird, Nebraska. Two years later he was elected county treasurer of Holt county, Nebraska, and served in that position for two terms or four years. He became associated with a bank at O'Neill, Nebraska, in which he occupied the position of cashier for six years, and then disposed of his interest in the bank and built a flour mill at the same place which was destroyed by fire two years later. The insurance was far less than the loss, so that he was financially much embarrassed. In 1894 he removed to Westplains, Missouri, where he again took up the occupation of farming but with poor success and in 1896 he returned to the northwest. He was employed in connection with the lumber business until August, 1898, when he removed to Basin and assisted in organizing the Bighorn County Bank, of which he took charge as cashier, holding that position until January, 1913, when he was elected to the presidency. He is also an official in the First State Bank of Kane, Wyoming, and an officer and director in the Basin Hall Company, the Basin Building Company and in the Torchlight Company. These interests are contributing to the material development of the community and Mr. Darr is thus actively connected with business enterprises which have to do with general progress and prosperity while at the same time they contribute to individual success. As the years have passed he has prospered and is now the owner of real estate in Basin and vicinity besides being a stockholder in several corporations and business enterprises elsewhere.
    In May, 1891, at Redbird, Nebraska, Mr. Darr was united in marriage to Miss Ella Jones, a daughter of Thomas W. Jones. They have two children: Jessie L., the widow of Judge G. M. Cleveland, of Hot Springs, South Dakota; and Mazie V., the wife of M. B. Rhodes, a banker of Kane, Wyoming.
    In politics Mr. Darr has always been a straight republican and has taken an active and helpful interest in politics since living in Wyoming. He served as county treasurer from January, 1886, to January, 1890, and was for three terms mayor of Basin, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He belongs to the Masonic lodge and since 1879 has been an Odd Fellow, holding most of the offices in that order and belonging to all of its branches. He has been grand master and grand patriarch and has represented both the grand lodge and grand encampment in the Sovereign Grand Lodge. He has likewise been grand treasurer for both of these branches for the last four years and is prominently and widely known in the organization. He is greatly interested in good government, local, state and national, and is not generally a convert to the many so-called reforms, having lived to see that most of them have been illusionary. He stands, however, for progress and improvement, guided by sound judgement, and his cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any movement which he believes will benefit community, commonwealth or country.