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(Transcribed, parphrased & submitted by Kari)
Originally the county was named Pease County, honoring Dr E. Pease and its area
also included what is present day Sheridan, Big Horn, Wahakie and Hot Springs
counties. It was founded in 1875. In 1879 they changed the name to Johnson
County to honor a Cheyenne attorney, E. P. Johnson. It was not officially organized,
however, until 1881.[Sources: Buffalo Bulletin, various maps, local histories, museum pamphlets] The county seat is Buffalo, which is located in the north central part of the county and the county is 4,175 sq miles in size. It also includes the town of Kaycee and the communities of Sussex, Mayoworth, Barnum, Lynch and Saddlestring. The population of the county has always been small...at the 2000 census, its population was 7,025, with Buffalo being the largest town, having a population of 3,900 and Kaycee with a population of 249. BARNUM is in the southern part of Johnson County, west of Kaycee near the Hole in the Wall area and was named after Thomas F. Barnum, homesteader. Elevation is 5,180 feet. One family who settled there was Frank Graves. His ranch was the site of the Red Fork Battle-the last battle of the Souix war of 1876. It is the Red Fork of Powder River. This battle site has also been called the MacKenzie's Last Fight with the Cheyenne and Destruction of the Village of Dull Knife. BUFFALO is located near the junctions of I-25 and I-90 in the north central part of the state. It has an elevation is 4, 646 ft. and got its name when several men, who were in the Occidental Hotel, threw names into a hat and “Buffalo” was picked out of the hat. The man who submitted the name was from Buffalo, NY. Buffalo has always been the largest town in Johnson County and is the seat of the county. The town's purpose was to supply the fort that was located just west up on the flattop. It was the typical rowdy western town with all the saloons, cowboys, livestock and everything that went with that lifestyle. GREUB “John Greub-Middle Fork of Crazy Woman Creek 1894 John Greub and Minnie Hepp were married in 1889. Their home along the Middle Fork became a road house, telephone office and post office. Their son, Jesse, operated the ranch and post office after 1913 and grandchildren remain in the county today. Greub is still a landmark even though no sign of the ranch buildings or schoolhouse survive on the original location. The barn has been moved and continues to be used.” KAYCEE is located in the southern part of Johnson county on I-25 with an elevation is 4,649 ft and was originally a ranch known as the KC Ranch. When the area began to grow, the ranchers wanted a post office, but the Post Office said they had to have a name, so the people spelled out the letters K and C!!! The KC Ranch was the site of the Johnson County War. LINCH is an unincorporated community in Johnson county, southeast of Buffalo along WYO 192. The elevation is 4,957 ft. It is bordered on the north by a pine ridge and on the south by Meadow Creek. The land was homesteaded by the Linch family in about 1925. There were other homesteads in the area that have disappeared now and then oil was discovered and is drilled there now. The town grew and now there is a school, small businesses, and streets. It was surveyed and recorded as Linch in 1950. MAYOWORTH is located northwest of Kaycee on the North Fork of Powder River. The first Mayoworth Post Office was at the site of the homestead of Griffith J Jones. Mrs Jones won the bid for post master and came up with the name of Mayoworth. May was the name of one of her daughters and Worth was part of May's boyfriend's middle name and then she added the “o” to separate the two, becoming Mayoworth. Mayoworth is the site of the Morgareidge family ranch and there exists today a family cemetery, which is no longer in use. SADDLESTRING is an unincorporated community in Johnson county, northwest of Buffalo along the edge of the Big Horn Mountains. It had a PO at one time with a zip of 82840. The PO no longer exists but the zip remains the same. It is part of the HF Bar Ranch. SUSSEX is a community named after Sussex Co, DE and has an elevation of 4,383 ft. It is located east of Kaycee in the southern part of Johnson County. It sits near the old Bozeman Trail and Ft Reno and is surrounded by the early history of Wyoming. |