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Copyrighted, 1923 all rights reserved |
Foreword |
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TO SEE Natrona county grow from the smallest in point of assessed valuation to the very highest of any county in Wyoming, to see Casper
rise from a frontier village, with a population of less than
five hundred to a progressive city of twenty-seven thousand,
to see our resources developed from almost nothing to a stage
that supplies the product for factories and refineries that
cost more than thirty millions of dollars, where more than
three thousand men are employed, and to worthily record
the events that have occurred in these years is the author's
pride, and to be familiar with them is the duty, and should
be the delight of every patriotic citizen. In presenting this work the author's aim is to supply the demand for a true portrayal of a great and eventful period of more than three decades, wherein the progress has been most exciting and dramatic. What struggles and triumphs, what discoveries and revelations, what disasters and reforms, what tragedies and comedies have characterised the wonderful advance since the first tent was put up where the city of asper is situated and since Natrona county was organised. This work is not a mere history, for it contains details of commonplace occurrences and graphic descriptions of everything notable that has occurred since Casper was a mere village and since Natrona was organised as a county. The pages are filled with the most interesting and useful material for reference, illustration, entertainment and instruction, and in the fullest sense is stimulating, romantic, true. More than three laborious years have been devoted to the preparation of this work, and the author has obtained rare and valuable information hitherto inaccessible. County and city records, libraries, private diaries, newspapers and journals of the pioneers are the sources of the author's information. From eye witnesses and participants in thrilling scenes have been secured interesting facts never before in print, and the work may be relied upon as authority upon all subjects of which it treats. The illustrations are rare and of a value beyond financial consideration, and many of the engravings will convey a clearer idea of some of the subjects than a whole volume of words. Bias or prejudice and a garbled version made of distorted fact and malicious gossip are not included in these pages, but details, events and incidents are recorded as nearly correct as has been possible to obtain them. To the pioneers and the others who have adopted Natrona county as their dwelling place, the author has the honor to dedicate this work. |
Preface |
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THERE is no place in the great Middle West more replete with interesting history than Central Wyoming and Natrona county It was in this part of the country that John Colter, in 1808, while trapping along the streams and wandering over the plains, had thrilling experiences with the Indians that seem almost incredible; it was here that Robert Stuart, in 1812, with his small party of men, who, after traveling for many months through the mountains and over the plains, on their way from the Columbia river to Saint Louis, and having been overtaken with early winter, put up the first white man's cabin that was built in what is now the state of Wyoming; it was here that General Ashley, in 1823-4, explored the Big Horn mountains and the Sweetwater valley and gave its name to the "Sweetwater" river; it was here that Captain Bonneville, in 1832, spent much of his time in his most interesting explorations, which are so ably described by Washington Irving; it was here that Father DeSmet, in 1840, spread the gospel among the Indians and trappers, and through his goodness no doubt averted many a clash between the red man and the whites. This great man chiseled his name on Independence Rock, which he gave the name, "The Register of the Desert"; it was here that John C. Fremont, "The Pathfinder," in 1842, with Kit Carson as his guide, explored the country along the Platte and Sweetwater rivers, and finally ascended one of the highest peaks in the Wind River range that bears his name, and from this lofty peak discovered the lake that was then named and since bears the name of Fremont lake; he, too, chiseled his name on Independence Rock. And after Fremont came the sturdy pioneers in 1843-8 to settle the Oregon Country; in 1847-55 the Mormons passed through to the Great Salt Lake country; in 1849-55 the California gold seekers passed over the well worn trail; and up until 1869 the emigrants and homeseekers, by the thousands upon thousands, traveled from the extreme east to the west end of the county on their westward journey, many of whom experienced hair-breadth escapes and bloody encounters with wild beasts and hostile Indians; |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS | |
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FACING PAGE | |
Map OF Natrona County, Wyoming | 6 |
Natrona County Newspapers | 30 |
"Tribune" Office, on Center Street, 1900 | 32 |
"Derrick" Office, 1893 | 32 |
Casper's First Jail Building, 1890 | 36 |
Natrona County's First Court House, 1893 | 36 |
Natrona County Court House, 1908 | 36 |
The Jameson Freight Outfit Bound for Lander | 50 |
Members of the Natrona County Pioneer Association (1906) | 60 |
Freight Team and Wagons with Supplies | 76 |
South Side of Main Street in 1888 "Old Town" of Casper | 116 |
North Side of Main Street in 1888 "Old Town" of Casper | 116 |
A Busy Day in the "Old Town" of Casper, 1888 | 118 |
First Store of the Richards k Cunningham Company, 1888 | 118 |
Two Views of Casper in 1894 | 126 |
Congregational Tabernacle, Casper's First Church Building | 130 |
Business Houses on West Center Street, 1892 | 130 |
St. Mark's First Episcopal Church, Built in 1890 | 134 |
Casper Churches in the Early Days: First Methodist Episcopal, 1893 AND 1906; St. Mark's Episcopal; St. Anthony's Catholic | 134 |
Officers and Members of Casper Lodge No. 15, A., F. and A. M., 1897. | 140 |
Casper Fire Department, 1913 | 154 |
Eighty-five Thousand Barrels of Oil Burning | 160 |
Oil Tanks Struck by Lightning – A Million-Dollar Fire | 160 |
Loading Up the Freight Wagons | 166 |
Indians on Second Street, Casper, Come to Town for Supplies, 1892. | 166 |
West Side of Center Street, July 4, 1901 | 170 |
Casper Band Marching Down Center Street, 1908 | 170 |
Indians Entertaining Casper Palefaces in 1894 | 184 |
Center Street, Casper, 1890 | 184 |
Same Street in 1900 | 202 |
Same Street in 1922 | 202 |
Second Street, Casper, Looking East from Center Street, 1922 | 208 |
Town of Bessemer, 1890 | 222 |
Bessemer Postoffice, 1892 George W. Johnson, Wife and Son | 222 |
Goose Egg Ranch House | 224 |
First Oil Derrick in the Salt Creek (Shannon) Field, Erected in 1889 | 244 |
Casper's First Oil Refinery, Built in 1895 | 246 |
Hauling Supplies from Casper to the Salt Creek Oil Fields, 1900. | 248 |
Spring Creek Canyon. Inset: Ella Watson's Cabin | 268 |
The Tree upon which Ella Watson and James Averell Were Hanged | 268 |
The "Hole-in-the-Wall" Cabin | 314 |
The "Hole-in-the-Wall" Ranch, Red Bluffs in the Distance | 314 |
"The Monument," in Memory of I. Morris Waln | 370 |
"Monarch of the Plains" | 370 |
"The Sentinels," a Portion of "Hell's Half Acre" | 376 |
Old Fort Caspar and Platte Bridge | 406 |
Members of Casper City Council and Committee from Chamber of Commerce | 404 |
Excavating a Log from the Old Platte Bridge | 406 |
Masonic Memorial Service at Independence Rock, Wyoming, July 4, 1920. Inset: Commemorative Tablet Affixed to the Rock | 458 |
Sweetwater Valley. Inset: Close View of the Devil's Gate | 462 |
The Devil's Gate and the Tom Sun Ranch | 462 |
Second Street, Casper, Looking East from Center, 1920 | 462 |
Transcibers Note: The book was not broken down into chapters. The book is over 400 pages. That, with the illustrations, makes for a very large file to download. Chapters are only mine and for the convenience of the reader. |
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