History of Wyoming - Chapter XXXIII
CHAPTER XXXIII
CITIES AND TOWNS
Afton—Baggs—Basin—Big Piney—Buffalo—Burns—Byron—Cambria—Casper— Cody—Cokeville—Cowley—
Dayton—Diamondville—Dietz—Dixon— Douglas—Dubois—Elk Mountain—Encampment— Evanston—Gillette—
Glenrock—Granger—Green River—Greybull—Guernsey—Gunn—Hanna—Hartville—Hudson—Jackson—Kaycee—Kemmerer—
Lander—Laramie—Lovell—Lusk—Lymon—Manderson—Manville—Medicine Bow—Meeteetse— Moorcroft—Newcastle—
Pine Bluffs—Powell—Rawlins—Riverton—Rock River—Rock Springs— Saratoga—Sheridan—Shoshoni—Sublet—Sundance—
Superior—Thermopolis—Torrington—Upton—Wheatland—Worland—Other Towns ... 562
    According to the state census of 1915, the State of Wyoming then had sixty-eight cities and incorporated towns, and in every county there are several small villages, rural postoffices and minor railway stations that serve as local trading points, etc. Most of these small hamlets have no special history and it would be impracticable to attempt a detailed description of each one in this connection. The story of Cheyenne, the capital city of the state, has already been told, and the province of the present chapter is to give some account of each of the cities and incorporated towns, which for the convenience of the reader have been arranged in alphabetical order.
AFTON
    In the western part of Lincoln County, between the Salt River and Caribou ranges of mountains, lies the Star Valley, one of the most beautiful of the entire Rocky Mountain system. In this valley there are nine towns, the largest of which is Afton. Although far removed from the railroad, daily stages connect Afton with the Oregon Short Line at Montpelier, Idaho, and Cokeville, Wyo. The stage road between Afton and Cokeville w-as built by convict labor and is one of the best in the state. The first settlements in the Star Valley were made by Mormons from Utah, and at Afton there is a large tabernacle of the Latter Day Saints. The town has a large machine shop, a bank that carries deposits of about one-fourth of a million dollars, good hotels, fine public school buildings, a weekly newspaper, well stocked mercantile establishments, and a modern roller mill. It is the headquarters of the Lincoln County Fair Association. The population in 1915 was reported as 673, a gain of 103 during the preceding five years.
BAGGS
    The incorporated town of Baggs is situated in the extreme southwestern part of Carbon County, on the Little Snake River and only three miles from the Colorado line. It is connected with the Union Pacific Railroad by daily stages which run between Baggs and Wamsutter, a distance of fifty miles. This town is the center of a large agricultural and stock raising district. A bank was established in 1908 for the convenience of the stockmen. Large quantities of coal are known to be deposited near the town, but they have not been developed for lack of transportation facilities. Timber is plentiful in the immediate vicinity and there are several sawmills that do a successful business. It is a supply point for a large section of the country, the merchants freighting their goods by wagon from Rawhns or Wamsutter. The population of Baggs in 1915 was 157.
BASIN
    This town is the county seat of Bighorn County. It is located in the heart of the Big Horn Basin, from which it derives its name, on the Big Horn River and the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad that runs from Denver, Colo., to Billings, Mont. The town is the natural outgrowth of the meeting point of several trails, where travelers in early times were accustomed to meet. When Bighorn County was established in i8go, the early settlers selected as the site of their county seat this beautiful spot on the west bank of the Big Horn River, and directed their efforts toward making it one of the active and prosperous cities of Wyoming. About 1910, while W. S. Collins was mayor he brought into the town and set out about two thousand California poplars. Nearly all these trees lived, so that now (1918) the streets of Basin are better shaded than most of the younger cities of the West.
    The Commercial Club of Basin is one of the most active industrial organizations of Wyoming. Through its systematic efforts a number of inhabitants have been brought to the city within the few years, as well as the establishment of new business enterprises and the erection of public buildings. The members of this club pulled together for the new postoffice building, which is to be completed in the near future, and the new courthouse, which cost $65,000. The club also aided in securing the donation of $15,000 from Andrew Carnegie for the public library, which was dedicated in 1909. It is known as the Bighorn County Library and is open to all residents of the county.
    Basin has four banks, the aggregate deposits of which amount to nearly two million dollars, a good system of waterworks, an electric light plant, modem school buildings, and the mercantile establishments compare favorably with those of many larger cities in the state. The Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Christian Scientists and Second Day Adventists all have church organizations in Basin, and some of these denominations have neat church edifices. The population of Basin in 1915 was 728. During the year 1917 a large number of new buildings were erected, the estimated amount expended for these buildings being $300,000. In the spring of 1918 the population was estimated at 1.400.
BIG PINEY
    The Upper Green River Valley supports a number of prosperous towns, one of which is Big Piney. It is located in the eastern part of Lincoln County about sixty miles northeast from Kemmerer, the county seat, in one of the best stock raising regions of the state. The town was laid off by D. B. Budd in 1880 and a postoffice was established soon after. A. W. Smith, another early settler, is still living in Big Piney and claims the distinction of being the oldest resident in that part of Lincoln County. Big Piney has a bank, a weekly newspaper, a large public hall, a fine school building, Congregational and Episcopal churches and a number of well stocked stores. The population in 1915 was 141, according to the state census, but the inhabitants of the town claim more than double that number.
BUFFALO
    The City of Buffalo, the county seat of Johnson County, is situated north of the center of the county on Clear Creek, and only a short distance east of the Big Horn Mountains. Buffalo was founded by Alvin J. McCray, W. L. Andrews, William H. Phillips and Charles Williams. The first house was still standing in the spring of 1918 and was then occupied by a plumbing establishment, after having served as the postoffice and a banking house. Two stories are told as to the manner in which the town received its name. One is that is was named by Alvin J. McCray, who was born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1854, and came west soon after reaching his twenty-first birthday anniversary. In 1876 he established the first hotel in Deadwood, S. D., but soon afterward came to Johnson County (then Pease County) and assisted in laying out the county seat, naming it after his birthplace. The other story is that several houses had been erected before a name was selected. Each man was given a slip of paper upon which he was to write the name he desired. The slips were then placed in a hat, with the understanding that they were to be thoroughly mixed and the first one drawn out was to be the name of the town. "Buffalo" happened to be the word on the slip drawn and William Hart, a native of Buffalo, N. Y., claimed to be the one who deposited that particular slip in the hat. If the latter story is correct, it would be interesting to know what other names were proposed, but they will probably never be learned.
    Robert Foote opened the first store in Buffalo in 1882. His first stock of goods was brought in wagons by George W^ Munkers and Eugene B. Mather. Charles Buell was the proprietor of the first hotel, accommodating his guests in a tent until a building could be erected. The town was incorporated by an act of the Wyoming Legislature, approved on March 3, 1884, and H. A. Bennett was elected the first mayor. He was born in Tennessee in 1854 and came to Wyoming in 1877. Ten years after the incorporation Buffalo had electric lights and a system of waterworks, both installed by the Buffalo Manufacturing Company, which constructed a dam four miles west of the town in the Clear Creek Canyon for the purpose of furnishing power for a flour mill.
    For many years Buffalo claimed to be the largest town in the United States without a railroad, but this distinction departed on February 28, 1918. when the first train arrived over the Wyoming Railroad, which makes connection with the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy at Clearmont, Sheridan County, and which was commenced in 1914. The event was celebrated by the citizens of the town, and within a short time stock yards were established for the accommodation of the stockmen in the vicinity. The building of the railroad also gave a great impetus to the coal mining industry and coal in large quantities is now shipped from the Buffalo mines.
    Buffalo has three banks, a telephone exchange of the Mountain States Telegraph and Telephone Company, four large church edifices, and a high school building was recently erected at a cost of $26,000. There are also four garages, several large mercantile houses, two weekly newspapers, a public library, and many cozy homes. Stage lines run daily between Buffalo and Sheridan and Buffalo and Kaycee. The population in 1915, according to the state census, was 1,246.
BURNS
    This town, formerly called Luther, is located on the Union Pacific Railroad twenty-six miles east of Cheyenne, in Laramie County. It came into existence some years after the completion of the railroad in response to a demand for a shipping point on the part of the stock growers in that section. Burns has a bank, a fine public school building that cost $20,000, electric light and waterworks. Christian. Catholic and Presbyterian churches, and in 1915 reported a population of 230.
BYRON
    The incorporated town of Byron is situated in the northwestern part of Bighorn County, on the Shoshone River about five miles south of Cowley, which is the nearest railroad station. It was incorporated early in the present century and in 1905 reported a population of 491. Since that time the railroad towns have drawn heavily upon Byron, which in 1915 had a population of 232.
CAMBRIA
    About, six miles north of Newcastle, in the eastern part of Weston County, is the mining town of Cambria. It is the terminus of a short line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway system which was constructed for the purpose of developing the mines at Cambria. These mines ship about fifteen hundred tons of coal daily. Cambria was incorporated under the general laws of Wyoming after the census of 1910 had been taken, and in 1915 reported a population ot 1,023. It is lighted by electricity furnished by the Newcastle Light and Power Company, has a telephone exchange, a fine public school building, a hotel, several well stocked stores, and is one of the live towns of Eastern Wyoming.
CASPER
    As late as the year 1886 the site of Casper, the county seat of Natrona County, was nothing but a sagebrush flat, inhabited only by prairie dogs and rattlesnakes. Now Casper is the fifth city of Wyoming and the second greatest wool shipping point in the United States. With the building of the railroad a "tent town" was started, which quickly became the rendezvous of cowboys and the place of the roundup. The "cow town" acquired the reputation of being a place "where money was easy and friendship true as steel." Next came the oil prospector, who was quickly followed by the banker and merchant, coal mines were opened and Casper took her place permanently upon the map.
    Casper is situated on the North Platte River, in the eastern part of the county, and near the site of old Fort Casper, which was named in honor of Lieut. Caspar Collins, who lost his life while charging a large body of Indians there in July, 1865, an account of which is given in another chapter. The origin of the city's name is therefore apparent.


    The city owns its waterworks, the supply coming from mountain springs, and for both quantity and quality is unexcelled. The income of the water plant is more than sufficient to defray the cost of operation and maintenance, a surplus every year being used to extend the service to new districts. Electric light is supplied by two companies, and natural gas near the city is utilized for fuel. Another claim of Casper is that it has the best fire department in the state, two large automobile trucks and chemical machines and a hook and ladder truck being kept in one house, and a smaller company has its headquarters on the south side.
    In the way of industries and business enterprises, Casper has two large oil refineries which ship about a million dollars" worth of oil each month, a large artificial ice plant, good hotels, a fine postoffice building erected by the United States Government, and large railroad interests, being the division point for both the Chicago & Northwestern and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy lines. The Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows have handsome buildings, and the five banks carry deposits of over five million dollars.
    The public school system is one of the best equipped in the West. Casper schools were among the leaders in what has become widely known as the Steever cadet system, and the world's record for wall scaling by school cadets is held by the Casper High School. A fine public library adds to the educational advantages. The Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, English and German Lutherans, and Presbyterians all have their own church buildings, and the Christian, United Brethren and Christian Scientists hold regular services in rented quarters. The population of Casper in 1915 was 4,040. Two years later the citizens claimed a population of 7,500.
CODY
    Cody, the county seat of Park County, is located at the junction of two transcontinental automobile routes–the Black and Yellow Trail and the Yellowstone Highway. As late as 1897 the town consisted of about a dozen frame houses of the "balloon" type. Among the first business men were W. P. Webster and H. P. Arnold, each of whom opened a general store. A little later M. L. Frost added a third mercantile house and Frank L. Houx engaged in the real estate and insurance business. When the town was incorporated on August 30, 1901, Mr. Houx was elected the first mayor.

    The town was located by George T. Beck and named for William F. Cody, known all over the world as "Buffalo Bill." When Park County was created in iqog, Cody was made the seat of justice. The building of the branch railroad from Frannie to Cody also helped the town and in 1915 it reported a population of 1.035, which was probably below the actual number of inhabitants. The road from the railroad terminus to the eastern entrance of the Yellowstone National Park–the "Cody Way"–was built by the United States Government. It is one of the best highways in the West and runs through a section of country that presents some of the finest natural scenery in the world.
    Cody has two banks, an electric light and power plant, a large flour mill, sulphur works that cost $60,000. a courthouse that cost $45,000, modern public school buildings, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and the Masonic fraternity owns a temple that would be a credit to a much larger place. The Hotel Irma, which was built by Buffalo Bill, is celebrated far and wide for the character of its accommodations. The town also has a good system of waterworks, two hospitals, and it is the principal supply point for a large and rich agricultural and mineral district.
COKEVILLE
    On the Oregon Short Line Railroad, in the western part of Lincoln County, forty-two miles northwest of Kemmerer. is the incorporated Town of Cokeville. One would judge from the name that the town's chief interest lay in coal mining, but such is not the case, although some coal is mined in the vicinity. Cokeville is a sheepman's town, where fortunes have been made in that line of industry. The first white settler here was John Bourne, who located on the townsite in 1874. He was followed by Sylvanus Collett and family and in 1879 the first store was opened by J. W. Stoner. A postoffice was established in 1881. For several years after this Cokeville was only a trading post for trappers and Indians, but when the Oregon Short Line Railroad was built in the early '90s the town began to grow.
    Near the town. Smith's Fork, one of Lincoln County's streams famous for trout, empties into the Bear River. The Oregon Short Line station at Cokeville is one of the best on the entire line. Near the depot is a large wool warehouse, from which several million pounds of wool are shipped annually. The town has a splendid system of waterworks, municipally owned, the water being taken from a spring on Pine Creek, and a municipal electric light and power plant was installed in the summer of 1917. Cokeville has a bank, a telephone exchange, a fine public school building, good cement sidewalks, and mercantile establishments handling all lines of goods. The early settlers were Mormons, and there is a large church of the Latter Day Saints at Cokeville. The population in 1915 was 305.
COWLEY
    In the northwestern part of Bighorn County, fifty miles from Basin, is the incorporated Town of Cowley. It is located on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad and grew up after that road was completed. Cowley has a large carbon manufacturing plant that cost $1,000,000, a bank, a money order postoffice, telegraph and telephone service, several general stores, an electric light and power plant, a weekly newspaper, a Latter Day Saints Church and an academy that is conducted under the auspices of that denomination. The population in 1915 was 630.
DAYTON
    Dayton is situated in the northwestern part of Sheridan County, on the north fork of the Tongue River, eighteen miles from Sheridan and six miles southwest of Ranchester, which is the nearest railroad station. Among the industries of Dayton are a large flour mill, a municipal light and water plant and several minor concerns. The town has a bank, a good public school building, a Congregational Church and is connected with the surrounding towns by telephone.
DIAMONDVILLE
    A short distance south of Kemmerer. the county seat of Lincoln County, is the incorporated Town of Diamondville, the headquarters of the Diamond Coal and Coke Company, which operates the mines at Diamondville, Glencoe and Oakley. The first mine was opened here in 1894 by Thomas Sneddon, and the town has grown up about the mines. The mines of the Diamond Company employ 1,200 men and the daily output is 3,000 tons. Aside from the mining interests the principal business concern is the Mountain Trading Company, one of the largest mercantile establishments in Western Wyoming. which has branch stores at Oakley and Glencoe. The town also has a good hotel, a lumber yard, a modern public school building, an electric light plant, a good system of waterworks, churches of the Latter Day Saints and Methodists, and a number of small business concerns.
On April 27, 1918, a mass meeting of the citizens of Diamondville decided not to hold the usual annual election, but to continue the mayor and two councilmen, whose terms expire on the 1st of June, for another year and use the election fund for the purchase of Liberty Bonds. Accordingly the council, thus instructed by the voters, purchased bonds to the amount of $3,000, nearly three dollars for every inhabitant, as the population in 1915 was reported as being 1,018.
DIETZ
    The little mining Town of Dietz is situated on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. six miles north of Sheridan, the county seat of Sheridan County. It dates its beginning from the time the railroad was completed and now ships 4,000 tons of coal daily. Dietz has a good public school building. Catholic and Methodist churches, telegraph and telephone service, a number of mercantile establishments, and in 1915 reported a population of 150.
DIXON
    Situated on the Little Snake River, in the southwestern part of Carbon County, is the incorporated Town of Dixon. It is seventy-five miles south of Rawlins, the county seat, and sixty miles from Wamsutter, the nearest railroad point, with which place it is connected by a daily mail stage line. Dixon has a large milling and power plant, a sawmill, a bank which carries deposits of over a cjuarter of a million dollars, a telephone exchange, a public school, several stores and an Episcopal Church. Its altitude is 6,854 feet and in 1915 its population was in.
DOUGLAS
    When the Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (now the Chicago & Northwestern) Railroad was built up the North Platte River in 1886, Douglas was not then in existence. About two hundred people were living about Fort Fetterman. which was the only settlement of consequence in what is now Converse County.
    When the county was created in 1888, Douglas was made the county seat and its history really dates from that time. Then came the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and Douglas began to assume an air of importance among the towns and cities of the state. Situated near one of the leading oil fields of the state, in the heart of a rich agricultural district, with coal deposits not far away, the natural advantages of Douglas may be readily understood.
    One of the big business institutions of the city is the warehouse and offices of the Chicago Hide, Fur and Wool Company, which employs about twenty-five people, has 50,000 names upon its mailing list, and does an annual business amounting to more than a million dollars. The city has three banks, two newspapers, an excellent system of waterworks, a postofifice building that cost $75,000, a new $50,000 courthouse, a $60,000 county high school building, a modern city hall that cost $20,000, and several fine church edifices. The state fair grounds are located here and the city also has a Chautauqua Association that conducts a course every year. A land office is located in the postoffice building. Douglas also has a large brick making plant that turns out a fine quality of pressed brick, a wagon factory, an electric light and power company, a hospital, a public library, good hotels, and the usual complement of mercantile houses, garages, etc., found in cities of its class. In 1910 the United States census reported the population of Douglas as 2,246, but the state census of 1915, greatly to the surprise of the citizens of the city reported only 1,845. As the school population increased nearly 40 per cent annually during the five years, the Douglas Commercial Club thinks there is something wrong with the enumeration of 1915 and estimates the population of the city at nearly double that shown by the state census.
DUBOIS
    Dubois is located on the Wind River in the northwestern part of Fremont County, about eighty miles northwest of Lander, the county seat, at an altitude of 6,909 feet. It is probable that this part of the state was visited by Verendrye in 1733, by John Colter in 1807, and it is known that Smith, Jackson and Sublette had their rendezvous near here in 1828. The nearest railroad point is Thermopolis, seventy miles distant, but owing to the mountainous character of the country between that place and Dubois, most of the freighting and stage transportation is through the Wind River Valley to Lander. Dubois is the trading and banking center for a large district in the upper Wind River country and in 1915 reported a population of 142.
ELK MOUNTAIN
This town takes its name from the mountain range a few miles south of it. It is situated in the east central part of Carbon County, fifteen miles southeast of Hanna. with which place it is connected by a daily stage line. Elk Mountain has an electric light plant, a large sawmill, several general stores, a hotel, a money order postoffice, a public school and a telephone exchange of the Intermountain Telephone Company. It had a population of 177 in 1915.
ENCAMPMENT
    The incorporated Town of Encampment is located in the southern part of Carbon County, on the Grand Encampment River in the beautiful valley between the Medicine Bow and Sierra Madre mountains. It was established in 1902 and is the outgrowth of the development of the gold and copper mines in that section of the state. The name was adopted because it was here that the grand encampment of the Indian tribes was located for the season's hunting. A smelter was built here soon after the town was started, which added materially to its growth. Encampment is the southern terminus of the Saratoga & Encampment Railroad, which connects with the Union Pacific at Walcott. It has a bank, several good stores, telegraph and telephone service. Presbyterian Church, a graded public school and a number of cozy homes. Situated at an altitude of 7,270 feet, at the junction of the two forks of the Grand Encampment River, the town is a favorite resort for fishermen during the trout season. The population in 1915 was 218. Three years later it was estimated at 500.
EVANSTON

    In June, 1869, the site of Evanston, the county seat of Uinta County, was selected by the Union Pacific Railroad Company as a suitable place for a town The survey was made the following spring and the first lots were offered foi sale on June 25. 1870. E. S. Whittier was the first man to purchase a lot. A postoffice had been established in April previous to the sale of lots, with Charles T. Devel as the first postmaster. He held the position for eight years, when he was succeeded by E. S. Whittier. The first public school was opened on July 8, 1870. with eight pupils in attendance, and before winter the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches were organized. At the election on September 6, 1870. a majority of the voters of Uinta County voted to remove the county seat from Merrill to Evanston. In November, 1871, the railroad shops were established and brought a number of families to the town.
    One of the active early inhabitants was Maj. Frank M. Foote, who was born at South Bend, Ind., in 1846 and came to Wyoming in 1871 as a clerk in the Union Pacific office at Bryan. The next year he was transferred to Evanston. In 1875 he was'elected to the lower house of the Territorial Legislature, and in 1876 was elected probate judge and treasurer of Uinta County. He was under sheriff in 1881-82 and then engaged in the cattle business, locating his ranch near Medicine Butte north of the town. Major Foote was active in organizing the Wyoming National Guard and commanded the battalion furnished by the state in the Spanish-American war.
    Evanston was first incorporated by an act of the Legislature approved on December 11, 1873, but through the influence of Major Foote and others this incorporation was annulled in 1875. The present form of city government was established under the act of March 4, 1882.
    The city is situated on the Bear River, near some extensive coal deposits and is one of the richest irrigated agricultural districts in Western Wyoming. Its altitude is 6,754 feet. It is a division point on the Union Pacific and the railroad company has here extensive shops, a roundhouse that cost $750,000, and one of the finest passenger stations on the entire line. The Government erected a new postoffice building a few years ago, at a cost of $184,000, the courthouse is a substantial and commodious structure, the city has a pubhc hbrary building that cost $11,000 and the state insane asylum is located at Evanston. The public utilities include a splendid system of waterworks and a modern electric light and power plant.
    Evanston has three banks that carry deposits of about two million dollars, a large flour mill, grain elevators, hotels and theaters, live newspapers, churches of the Catholic, Episcopal, Latter Day Saints, Methodist and Presbyterian denominations, a public school system that is unsurpassed by any city of the state, substantial business buildings and many pretty liomes. The population in 1915 was 2,756.
GILLETTE
    Near the center of Campbell County is the Town of Gillette, the county seat. It is a division point on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad that runs from Lincoln, Neb., to Billings, Mont., and has important railroad interests. The town was incorporated about the beginning of the present century and when Campbell County was created in 1911. It was made the county seat. Since then its growth has been more rapid and substantial, the population in 1915 being reported as 505.
    Gillette has a municipal lighting plant, a system of waterworks, a good sewer system for a town of its size, a new $25,000 high school building. Catholic, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, a creamery, two banks with deposits of nearly a million dollars, a hotel, a telephone exchange, etc. The Commercial Club of Gillette is composed of wide awake, energetic business men and is active in advertising the advantages of the town with a view of attracting new business enterprises.
GLENROCK
    The development of the oil fields in Wyoming has converted a number of old "cow towns" into towns of the modern and progressive type. Among these is Glenrock. the second town in importance of Converse County. It is located on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and the North Platte River, twenty-four miles west of Douglas, near extensive coal beds and the western boundary of the Big Muddy oil fields. In 1915 the state census reported a population of 220. and at the beginning of the year 1918 the population was estimated at 1,500. In April, 1918, the people of the town voted bonds to the amount of $40,000, in addition to some $60,000 previously authorized, to establish a system of waterworks, an electric light plant, and to extend the sewer system.
    Glenrock has two banks, an oil refinery, a new $27,000 public school building, an active commercial club, three large lumber yards. Baptist, Catholic and Episcopal churches, a number of stores handling all lines of merchandise, handsome residences, and early in 1918 the Wyoming Building and Investment Company announced its intention to erect a hotel to cost $150,000.
GRANGER
    Granger, also called the "Junction City," is located in the western part of Sweetwater County, thirty miles west from Green River, the county seat. It is the terminus of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, which here joins the Union Pacific. An important industry is that of furnishing ties to the two railroads. The ties are cut in the mountains on Ham's Fork and Black's Fork of the Green River and floated down to the "tie-boom" a short distance east of the town. Thousands of railroad ties are supplied to the railroad companies annually and during the summer months the "boom" is one of the busiest places in Sweetwater County. In 1917 the preliminary steps were taken to establish an electric light plant and a system of waterworks for the town. The population in 1915 is given in the state census as 134.
GREEN RIVER
    Probably no county seat in Wyoming has a more picturesque and romantic site than Green River, the county seat of Sweetwater County. It stands upon an elevated position on the banks of the Green River, at the western end of the Table Mountains. Passengers on the Union Pacific have looked out of the car windows and speculated on the height of Castle Rock, but few of them have realized that its summit is more than one thousand feet above the railroad station grounds. Here, too, is the Pulpit Rock, from which Brigham Young delivered a sermon to his Mormon followers when they were on their way to Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The main street in Green River was once the famous Oregon Trail, and later the Overland stages passed along this street on their way to and from the Pacific Coast. Here Col. Albert Sidney Johnston's army crossed the Green River in 1857, when the little frontier town was composed entirely of adobe houses. At Green River the expeditions of Maj. J. W. Powell, Julius F. Stone, the Kolb brothers and others outfitted for the exploration of the Green River and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. An account of these expeditions is given in another chapter of this work.
    Green River was founded in April, 1868, and for years after that it was the "frontier," where civilization and savagery met on almost an equal footing and struggled for the mastery. The town was the home of quite a number of men who played important parts in the public affairs of Wyoming during the territorial days and in the early years of statehood. Among them were A. C. Beckwith, Edward J. Morris, P. L. Williams, Patrick Barrett, William A. Johnson, A. E. Bradbury, John Dykins, T. S. Taliaferro and Asbury B. Conaway, chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. Not only did these men give strength and character to the Commonwealth of Wyoming, but their influence extended to the adjoining states in numerous instances.
    The Green River of the present is one of the active, progressive cities of Wyoming. It has two banks, the largest brewery in the state, a great caustic soda manufactory, a fine public library building which was the gift of Andrew Carnegie, a substantial court-house for transacting the business of Sweetwater County, modern public school buildings, electric light and waterworks, beautiful public parks, several large mercantile houses, Catholic, Congregational, Episcopal and Methodist chtirches. and many handsome residences. The population in 1915 was 1,219.
GREYBULL
    One of the most important shipping points in the County of Bighorn is the town of Greybull, situated on the Denver & Billings division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, eight miles north of Basin. The people of this town take pleasure in referring to it as the "Oil City," on account of the great oil fields in the vicinity. Greybull has two oil refineries, with a daily capacity of 30,000 barrels, the railroad company has a roundhouse at this place, fuel and light are supplied by the natural gas wells near the town and there is also an electric light plant.
    Greybull takes its name from the Greybull River, which empties into the Big Horn a short distance above the town. It has two banks, good streets, cement sidewalks, a modern public school building, Baptist, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, and a number of mercantile concerns, being the principal supply point for a large farming district in the Big Horn Basin. The population in 1915 was 421, an increase of 163 during the preceding five years, and the growth since the census of 1915 was taken has been in even greater proportion.
GUERNSEY
    Guernsey is the second largest town in Platte County. It is situated on the North Platte River at the junction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Colorado & Wyoming railroads, in the center of a rich mining district, and ships large quantities of iron and copper ores. The "Burlington Route" has established stock yards and shearing pens at Guernsey, so that wool and live stock are among the leading exports. The railroad company also has a roundhouse at this point. Guernsey has two banks, a telephone exchange, a good public school building, the usual number of general stores found in towns of its class, and in 1915 reported a population of 239.
GUNN
    In the Rock Springs mining district of Sweetwater County, on a branch of the Union Pacific Railroad, about eight miles northeast of Rock Springs, is the little mining town of Gunn, which ships large quantities of coal every year. It was incorporated under the general laws of Wyoming about 1908, and in 1915 had a population of 227.
HANNA
    Although this town is not incorporated, it is one of the important shipping points and trading centers of Carbon County. It is located on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad forty miles east of Rawlins, the county seat, has electric light and waterworks, an opera house, a bank. Episcopal and Methodist churches, telegraph and telephone service, and is a great stage center, daily stage lines connecting a number of the surrounding towns with the railroad at Hanna. The population in 1915 was 1,347.
HARTVILLE
    In 1881 H. T. Miller discovered the mineral deposits where the town of Hartville now stands, in the northeastern part of Platte County. I. S. Bartlett interested a number of capitalists in the mines and organized the Wyoming Copper Company, which purchased the "Sunrise" mine and erected a smelter at Fairbank. The first miners came from the Black Hills and Harlville was for several years a typical western mining town, with the customary saloons, gambling houses, dance halls, etc. With the building of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad up the Platte Valley, much of Hartville's business was diverted to the towns that sprang up along the railroad. Then a branch of the railroad was built to the Sunrise mine and the town regained some of its lost prestige, without the "wide open" features. In 1918 the population was reported as being 205.
    The principal business of Hartville at the present time is the quarrying of limestone from the quarries adjoining the town. These quarries were opened about 1906 by I. S. Bartlett & Sons. From seventy-five to one hundred men are employed in the two quarries, one owned by I. S. Bartlett & Company and the other by the Great Western Sugar Company.
HUDSON
    Ten miles east of Lander, on the Popo Agie River and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, is the town of Hudson, the third largest in Fremont County. Three large coal mines are near the town and the railroad company gives Hudson the credit of shipping more live stock than any station west of Casper. The town has two banks, a modern hotel, a weekly newspaper, a telephone exchange, Catholic and Methodist churches, lodges of the leading fraternal orders, good public schools, electric light and waterworks. The population in 1915 was 428, an increase of 109 during the preceding five years. Hudson is on the line of the Shoshone Indian reservation and is an important trading point for the rich farming district in the Popo Agie Valley.
JACKSON
    As early as 1828 the region south of the Yellowstone National Park, in what is now the northern part of Lincoln County, was given the name of "Jackson's Hole" by W. L. Sublette, in recognition of the fact that his partner, David E. Jackson, had passed the preceding winter there. Since that time the name "Jackson" has been applied to other objects in that section, and finally to a town about fifteen miles from the Idaho line. Jackson is beautifully situated in the Snake River Valley, near the eastern end of the Teton Pass, through which a stage line runs between Jackson and Victor, Ida., the nearest railroad town. It is in the big game country and the elk refuge reservation is not far from the town. Jackson is the principal trading post and banking town for the settlers in a large part of the Snake River Valley and in 1915 reported a population of 204. It is the largest town in the northern part of Lincoln County.
KAYCEE
    In the southern part of Johnson County, on the Powder River and about forty-five miles south of Buffalo, is the incorporated town of Kaycee. The state census for 1915 gives Kaycee a population of 57, but the residents of the town claim nearly ten times that number. They also claim that their town is the largest in the United States without a railroad. These claims are at least partially sustained by the fact that Kaycee has two banks and a large graded public school building, accommodations that would hardly be required by the number of inhabitants reported by the census. Daily stages run between Kaycee and Buffalo.
KEMMERER
    When the first coal mine was opened at Dianiondville in 1894. the attention of capitalists was drawn to the new field. P. J. Quealy went to New York and succeeded in interesting M. S. Kemmerer in the coal mining proposition. Three years later he made a trip to Boston and made arrangements with Samuel Carr, president of the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company, to build a branch to the coal fields. In September, 1897, the Town of Kemmerer took its place upon the map of Wyoming and was named for M. S. Kemmerer, whose financial aid made the development of the coal industry possible. One of the early residents tells the following story of that period:
    "Back in 1897 I helped shoot up the Town of Kemmerer. You see, we were working at the Oregon Short Line grading camp near the old station of Hamsfork, and one Sunday morning three or four of us decided to kill time by walking down the track to see what we could find to shoot at. When we got to Kemmerer the inhabitants treated us very coldly and a few of them actually 'sassed' us. Near the corner where the First National Bank now stands a particular saucy individual so riled us that we began shooting and did not quit until nineteen of the inhabitants were killed."
    Then, after a pause long enough for his listener to show horror at such a blood-curdling affair, and with a peculiar twinkle in his eye, he proceeds to explain that the town at that time was only a prairie dog town, and that the nineteen victims so ruthlessly slaughtered were nothing more than rodents. The story, however, serves to illustrate the almost miraculous growth of Kemmerer during the first twenty years of its existence.
    While the founding of Kemmerer was due primarily to the efforts of P. J. Quealy, general manager of the Kemmerer Coal Company, other pioneers have cooperated in building up the city. Dr. W. A. Hocker was the first physician and Col. H. E. Christmas was the first lawyer. The former came to Evanston in 1873 and practiced in that city until Kemmerer was established. He then located in the "tent town" and has been one of its useful and influential citizens ever since. Colonel Christmas came to Wyoming in 1891, locating first at Rock Springs, but came to Kemmerer soon after the town was established.
    Kemmerer was incorporated early in the present century and when Lincoln County was created by act of the Legislature in 1911 it was made the county seat. The Oregon Short Line has railroad shops, roundhouse and extensive yards for handling the immense coal shipments, a fine city hall and modern jail have recently been erected, there are two banks with deposits aggregating about two million dollars, three public parks, one of which was given to the city by P. J. Ouealy, two weekly newspapers, several lodges of fraternal societies, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and Latter-Day Saints churches, five hotels, and mercantile houses of all kinds with stocks as large and well selected as are frequently found in cities with a much larger population. The city has a fine system of waterworks, and electric light plant and an excellent public school system. Late in the year 1916 a Chamber of Commerce was organized with Joseph E. Burch, president, and E. L. Smith, secretary. This organization is forwarding the work of good roads, to secure a public library and a new postoffice building. The Lincoln County Miners Hospital is located at Kemmerer. The population of the city in 1915 was 1,481, an increase of 638 during the preceding five years, and at the beginning of the year 1918 the population was estimated at 2,000.
LANDER
    One of the oldest incorporated cities in Wyoming is Lander, the county seat of Fremont County. It is situated in the beautiful Popo Agie Valley, near the southern boundary of the Shoshone Indian reservation, and is the terminus of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. It is also on the Denver-Yellowstone highway, one of the automobile routes leading to the Yellowstone National Park. The Shoshone reservation was established by the treaty of Fort Bridger (July 3, 1868j and Lander soon afterward came into prominence as a trading post. In the preceding chapter, in connection with the historical sketch of Fremont County, the early settlers in this section of the state are mentioned, some of whom were active in founding the town. The old Lander Trail led from here through Fremont and Lincoln counties to the mining camps of Idaho and Montana. In early days it was one of the important trails of Wyoming.
    When the railroad was completed to Lander, the town gained additional prestige as a commercial center and distributing point for the surrounding country. It was incorporated before the beginning of the present century and has increased in population from 525 in 1890 to 1,726 in 1915. Besides being the great trading point for the rich agricultural region in the Popo Agie Valley, Lander also has large mineral interests. Coal, gold, copper and asbestos are all found in paying quantities near the city. About 1901 Capt. John B. Henderson located in Lander and began developing one of the largest placer mining fields in Wyoming. In 1911 he became interested in the oil business, with the result that there are now five producing fields in Fremont County contiguous to the county seat.
    Lander has three banks, a system of waterworks operated by gravity pressure that cost $75,000, an armory and theater that cost $20,000, a $15,000 public library that was presented to the city by Andrew Carnegie, a Federal building that cost $165,000, the Bishop Randall Hospital that cost $40,000, and in 1918 a new hotel was completed at a cost of $100,000. The Wyoming School for Defective Children was located at Lander by the Legislature of 1911 and the state has expended on this institution about $100,000. A $20,000 high school building was erected by the city a few years ago, and in 1917 a county vocational school was authorized, to cost $100,000. A well equipped electric light plant provides light for the streets and buildings and the city has a modern sewer system. From this brief summary it may be seen that Lander is better provided with public buildings and public utihties than a majority of the cities of its size. The Congregationalists. Episcopalians and Methodists have comfortable houses of worship in the city.
    Lander is the headquarters of the Fremont County Fair Association, which holds annual exhibits of the live stock, farm products, minerals, etc. The Commercial Club is an active body of the progressive business men and has done a great deal of systematic, effective work for the promotion of the general welfare of the city and its people. Stage lines run from Lander to Fort Washakie, South Pass, Atlantic City, Pinedale and intermediate towns.
LARAMIE
    In the State of Wyoming the name "Laramie" is applied to a range of mountains, a river, a military post, a county and a city. One of the early trappers in this section was named La Ramie, and he has thus left the impress of his character and wanderings upon a number of the features of the state, even though the name is somewhat differently written and pronounced.

    The City of Laramie, the fourth in the state in population, was platted by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in April, 1868, and within a week about four hundred lots were sold. In May the railroad was completed to Laramie and by that time nearly five hundred houses had been erected, most of them of a transient and flimsy character. When Albany County was established by the first Territorial Legislature, Laramie was made the county seat. The same Legislature located the penitentiary here, and probably no town in the West at that time stood in greater need of such an institution. Following the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad came a number of lawless "undesirables," and a vigilance committee was organized to preserve order. As the railroad was continued westward, many of these turbulent individuals "passed on" and Laramie grew into a respectable community.
    Laramie was incorporated by an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved on December 12, 1873. The act provided that the first election should be held on January 13, 1874, and that subsequent elections should be held annually on the same date, unless the 13th came on Sunday, in which case the election should be held on the 14th. The five trustees were each to receive a salary of $12 per year and were given power to pass ordinances for the government of the town, improve the streets, provide fire protection, etc. This incorporation lasted until the present form of city government was established some years later.


    The Municipalities of Wyoming have been fortunate in having their affairs administered by public officials who have usually been faithful to their trust. One of the few defalcations occurred in the City of Laramie. On Sunday, April 24, 1893, Charles T. Gale, city treasurer, left for Denver, ostensibly to consult an oculist. After he had been absent for several days the city council caused his books to be examined and a shortage of nearly twelve thousand dollars was found in his accounts. Upon the petition of Charles W. Bramel, then prosecuting attorney of Albany County, Governor Osborne offered a reward of $250 for Gale's apprehension. Shortly after this it was learned that the defaulting treasurer was in San Francisco, where he was arrested and brought back to Laramie on May 18, 1893, in charge of a deputy sheriff. Gale was a tailor by trade and claimed that he had merely gone to San Francisco to learn new methods of cutting garments. The shortage was made good by his bondsmen.

    In manufacturing Laramie leads all the cities of the state. The Union Pacific Company established rolling mills and machine shops here at a comparatively early date. The city has three cement plaster mills, a Portland cement works, brick making plants that turn out a fine quality of pressed brick, a tie treating plant, a large brewery, saw and planing mills, tanneries, a flour mill, and a number of smaller concerns, such as creameries, bottling works, steam laundries, bakeries, etc. A glass factory was started some years ago, but for lack of sufficient capital it failed to meet the anticipations of its projectors.

    The water supply comes from mountain springs about two and a half miles from the city. These springs have a flow of 2,000,000 gallons daily and the water is noted for its purity. The streets and buildings are lighted by electricity furnished by an up-to-date plant, and the Laramie Fire Department is one of the best in the state. An important feature of Laramie is the stock yards, where cattle in transit to the Omaha and Chicago markets are fed and watered. The three banks of the city carry deposits of nearly four million dollars.
    Laramie is the seat of the State University of Wyoming, a history of which is given in the chapter relating to education. The state fish hatchery is also located here. The city has a fine Carnegie public library, daily and weekly newspapers, Baptist, Catholic, Christian Science, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian church organizations, all of which own fine church buildings, wide, well-shaded streets, the Ivinson Memorial Hospital, and modern school buildings. The cornerstone of the Laramie High School building was laid on December 7, 1910, by the Masonic lodge of the city, and the next year the same lodge erected a $20,000 temple. Other fraternal societies are well represented. The population of Laramie is given in the state census of 1915 as 4,962. The United States census of 1910 reported a population of 8,237, and it is quite probable that much of the apparent decrease can be accounted for by errors in the last enumeration.

LOVELL
    About ten miles south of the Montana line, in the northern part of Bighorm County, is the incorporated town of Lovell. It is a station on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, occupying a beautiful site on the banks of the Shoshone River, in one of the best fruit growing sections of the state. Oil and natural gas are found in abundance only three miles from the town. Lovell has a sugar mill for the manufacture of beet sugar, two banks, two Latter-Day Saints churches, a good public school building, a hotel and a number of well stocked stores. On September 11, igoS, Lovell was almost "wiped off the map" by a tornado, but it has been rebuilt more substantially than before and in 1915 reported a population of 640. In the rebuilding of the town the Commercial Club played an important part.
LUSK
    Lusk, the county seat of Niobrara County, is located in the southern part of the county, on the Niobrara River and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, in the midst of one of the best dry farming sections of the state. Niobrara County was created in 1911, hence Lusk is one of the new county seats of Wyoming. The town, however, came into existence about 1880. It is located at the point where the old Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail crossed the Niobrara River, but until the completion of the railroad it was only one of numerous insignificant villages in Wyoming. Since it became the county seat its growth has been both rapid and substantial. Early in the year 1918 oil was struck about twenty miles northwest of Lusk, in what is known as the Buck Creek dome, and prospectors have been investigating the country between that place and Lusk. Another "find" was made northeast of the town and on the strength of these discoveries the price of lots began to advance and a number of new buildings were erected.
    Lusk has two banks, waterworks, an electric light plant, a good sewer system, a telephone exchange of the Lusk-Manville Telephone Company, a new school building that is the pride of the town, several general stores, drug, hardware and clothing houses, hotels and restaurants, and a number of pretty homes. The Civic Improvement Club, an organization of women, have started a movement for a Carnegie Library, which will be established in 1918. The Catholics, Congregationalists and Episcopalians have neat church buildings and the town boasts two weekly newspapers (the Herald and the Standard). In 1915 the population was 434. Many carloads of live stock are shipped annually.
LYMAN
    About forty miles east of Evanston, in the Black's Fork Valley and near the old Fort Bridger military reservation, is the incorporated town of Lyman. The nearest railroad station is Carter on the Union Pacific, eleven miles northwest. Daily stages run between this station and Lyman. The town has a bank, a money order postofiice, a weekly newspaper called the Bridger Valley Enterprise, a public library, a church of the Latter-Day Saints, a hotel, a sawmill, a flour mill and several general stores. Lyman is one of the old towns of Uinta County and in 1915 reported a population of 182.
MANDERSON
    One of the recently incorporated towns of Wyoming is Manderson, situated in the southern part of Bighorn County on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railway and the Big Horn River. It is the' natural gateway to the Big Horn Basin and is the nearest railroad station to the newly developed Hidden Dome oil field. It has a bank, a flour mill, a public hall, a large outfitting store and several smaller mercantile houses, a modern public school building, and the Baptists have a fine church edifice. Stage lines connect Ten Sleep, Hyattville and some of the other adjacent towns with the railroad at Manderson. The population in 1915 was 225. Considerable quantities of coal and several carloads of live stock are shipped from Manderson every year.
MANVILLE
    Thirty miles from the Nebraska state line, near the headwaters of the Niobrara River, in the southern part of Niobrara County, is the thriving little town of Manville. It is the first station west of Lusk on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and is an important shipping point for the stock raisers of that section. The Lance Creek oil fields lie north of the town and recent developments there have had the effect of adding materially to Manville; prosperity. The town has a bank, a system of waterworks that cost $21,000, two large general stores, a hotel, a fine public school building, a telephone exchange, a grain elevator, and the customary number of minor business enterprises. A few miles southwest of the town are the historic "Spanish Diggings," where the remains of probably the most ancient stone quarries in the United States may be seen—relics of a bygone civilization. Manville was incorporated after the census of 1910 was taken and in 1915 it reported a population of 133. The discovery of oil in the vicinity since then has more than quadrupled the number of inhabitants.
MEDICINE BOW
    In the eastern part of Carbon County is the railroad station and incorporated town of Medicine Bow, on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad. It is situated in the irrigated district of the Medicine Bow Valley, from which it takes its name. Like Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, the town "just growed." Beginning as a small shipping station for the stock raisers in the valley, it has developed into a town of considerable importance to the surrounding country. It has a bank, general stores, a postofiice, a hotel, etc. Medicine Bow was incorporated in 1903 and in 1915 had a population of 170.
MEETEETSE
    This town is situated in the southeastern part of Park County, on the Grey-bull River, a short distance above the mouth of the Meeteetse Creek, from which it takes its name, and about thirty miles from Cody, the County seat. Stage lines connect Meeteetse with Cody and Basin, but a railroad line is in contemplation which will give the town modern transportation facilities when it is completed. Oil fields and coal mines near the town offer inducements for the building of the road. Meeteetse has two banks, a weekly newspaper, general stores, etc., and it is the headquarters of the Big Horn Pioneer and Historical Association. Near the town are some curious freak? of nature, one of which, the "Devil's Garden," is shown in an illustration in this volume.
MOORCROFT
    The town of Moorcroft is situated in the southeast corner of Crook County, on the Chicago. Burlington & Ouincy Railroad a short distance east of the Belle Fourche River and thirty miles from Sundance, the county seat. It is at the junction of two noted automobile routes–the George Washington Highway and the Black and Yellow Trail, which leads from the Black Hills to the Yellowstone National Park. Moorcroft has a bank, a municipal system of waterworks, a new high school building, a weekly newspaper (the Democrat), a telephone exchange, and several mercantile establishments that supply the people of the extensive dry farming district adjoining the town. Three star mail routes emanate from Moorcroft. The population was 131 in 1915.
NEWCASTLE
    Newcastle, the county seat of Weston County, is situated about ten miles west of the South Dakota line and almost due east of the center of the county. It is on the Lincoln & Billings division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway system and ships large quantities of coal and live stock annually. Back in the days of the old Cheyenne & Deadwood stage line a relay station was maintained here by the stage company. In 1889 the railroad had been completed to Crawford, Neb., about ninety miles southeast, and the Town of Newcastle was then projected by Kilpatrick Brothers & Collins, coal operators. The first sale of lots was on September 10, 1889. A year later the railroad was built through the town and Kilpatrick Brothers & Collins had 900 men at work opening the coal mines. The firm also opened a large store at Newcastle, which was the first business enterprise of importance.


    During its existence of nearly forty years, Newcastle has had its "ups and downs." In 1890 the population was 1,715; ten years later it had dropped to 756; in 1905 the state census reported a population of 1,008; the United States census of 1910 gave the town 975, and the state census of 1915 only 651.
    Shortly after the town was founded the Cambria Mining Company expended $100,000 upon a system of waterworks to supply Cambria, Newcastle and the adjacent mining camps. The supply is furnished by mountain springs thirteen miles from the town. The town also has an electric light plant which supplies Newcastle and Cambria, three banks, a large flour mill, a weekly newspaper (the News-Journal), an active commercial club, Catholic and Methodist churches, a good system of public schools, and a number of well stocked stores. Newcastle is the home of Frank W. Mondell. who has represented Wyoming in Congress for more than twenty years.
PINE BLUFFS
Next to Cheyenne, this is the largest town in Laramie County. It is situated near the eastern line of the county on the Union Pacific Railroad and is the most important station between Cheyenne and Julesburg. The site of Pine Bluffs was once a favorite camping place on the trail from the South Platte country to Fort Laramie. When the railroad was built the old camping ground grew into a town that is a supply point for a large agricultural district in Wyoming and Nebraska. Pine Blufifs has two banks, two grain elevators, electric light and waterworks, yards for handling and shipping live stock, a weekly newspaper (the Post), Catholic and Methodist churches, stores that deal in all lines of merchandise, etc. The town recently erected a new school building of the modern type. The population in 1915 was 650.
POWELL
    In the northeastern part of Park County, on the branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway system that runs from Frannie to Cody, is the town of Powell, one of the most progressive towns in the northwestern part of the state. It has two banks, municipal waterworks, electric lights, an efficient fire department, large alfalfa mills, a Chautauqua Association, a creamery, a weekly newspaper, good hotels, Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal and Presbyteiian churches, and a new school building that cost $30,000. Powell has one of the most energetic commercial clubs in Northern Wyoming. It is a comparatively new town, was incorporated after the census of 1910 was taken, and in 1915 reported a population of 406.
RAWLINS
    Rawlins, the county seat of Carbon County, is the sixth city of the state in population, and occupies even a higher position than that in wealth and commercial importance. The city dates its beginning from the spring of 1868, when the Union Pacific Railroad was completed through Wyoming, and was named for John A. Rawlins. Among the first settlers were James C. France, who was the first banker; Isaac C. Miller, who served two terms as sheriff of the county, and who was the democratic candidate for state treasurer at the first state election in 1890; John C. Dyer, who followed the Union Pacific to Rawlins and was one of the active factors in developing the mineral deposits in the vicinity of the city; DeWitt C. Kelley, who came as a bookkeeper for Mr. France in 1869, became cashier of Mr. France's bank when it was started in 1882, and the same year was elected probate judge and county treasurer.
    About twenty years after Rawlins was started, the Legislature located the penitentiary there and the state has expended about a quarter of million dollars on the buildings and grounds. The Union Pacific Company has shops here that employ from three hundred to five hundred men. Extensive coal and iron deposits near the city furnish the fuel and raw material for these shops, and another mineral deposit is that of the mineral paint beds, which were discovered by John C. Dyer soon after he came to Rawlins. This paint, known as the "Rawlins Red," has been shipped to all parts of the country. A few years ago it was used to repaint the noted suspension bridge connecting Brooklyn and New York City. Fine building stone–both limestone and sandstone–is found almost in the limits of the city, and from the great beds of clay a fine quality of pressed brick is manufactured. The development of these natural resources, connected with the large live stock interests, has led the people of Rawlins to set up the claim that it is the richest city in Wyoming in proportion to population.

    As a commercial center Rawlins occupies a high place. Its trade extends over a large portion of Carbon and Sweetwater counties. Goods are carried by freight wagons from Rawlins to Dixon and Baggs on the south, and to Miner's Delight, Grosvenor and Atlantic City in Fremont County. Several daily stage lines connect with the Union Pacific trains at Rawlins. The ranchmen for miles around obtain their supplies from this city and drive their stock there for shipment.
    Besides the penitentiary, already mentioned, Rawlins has an $80,000 post-office building, a $50,000 high school, an Elks' Home that cost $50,000, and a Masonic temple that cost $60,000, besides a number of fine church edifices and other public buildings. It has three banks, a fine system of waterworks, electric light plant, a good sewer system, many modern homes and in 1915 ported a population of 2,975.

RIVERTON
    Near the eastern end of the Shoshone Indian reservation, in the beautiful and fertile Popo Agie Valley, is the incorporated Town of Riverton. It is located on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, twenty-three miles east of Lander, and is the second largest town in Fremont County. Being in the center of a rich irrigated district, Riverton is an important shipping point for live stock and farm products. Oil fields have recently been developed near the town, which have added to its importance as a trading center and supply point. Stage and freight lines run from Riverton up the Wind River to Dubois and intermediate towns. The town has three banks, electric light and waterworks, large flour mills, grain elevators, mercantile houses of all kinds, a fine public school building, churches of different denominations, etc., and in 1915 the population was 803, an increase of 320 during the preceding five years. Riverton was incorporated in 1907.
ROCK RIVER
    Although a small town. Rock River is an important shipping point and trading center in the western part of Albany County. It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad, thirty-eight miles west of Laramie, the county seat, in the center of an irrigated district and on the Lincoln Highway. It has a bank, a hotel, general stores, a $20,000 public school building, and is supplied with pure water piped from springs in the mountains. The town was incorporated about 1908 and in 1915 had a population of 195. It is the center of several stage lines.
ROCK SPRINGS

    Forty years ago Rock Springs, now the largest coal mining center in Wyoming and the third city of the state in population, was generally referred to as a "one horse town." The name was appropriate, as there was really but one horse and wagon there. They belonged to the Beckwith-Quinn Company, which opened the first coal mines and also established a company store, which was the first mercantile concern. The wagon was used for delivering goods to customers, hauling freight from the railroad depot, as a hearse for funerals–in fact for everything where a vehicle of any kind was needed.
    The first schoolhouse, which stood on the site of the present high school, was the largest room in the town and was used for political meetings, dances, religious services and the regular school. The first Sunday school was organized in this old schoolhouse by O. C. Smith, Solomon Rouff and Mrs. J. M. Tisdell, a sister of Senator Clarence D. Clark. The city now has Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Episcopal and Methodist church organizations, all of which have comfortable houses of worship, and the new high school building, which has taken the place of the old frame schoolhouse, is one of the finest in Wyoming.


    In the early days there was neither physician nor undertaker in Rock Springs. If any one was taken ill, William Meller, mine foreman for the Beckwith-Ouinn Company, was sent for, as he knew something of medicine and kept a few standard remedies ready for emergencies. If the person died, the Beckwith-Ouinn Company furnished the coffin and their delivery wagon came into use as the hearse. The coffins were bought unfinished and were lined and trimmed in a room over the store, the clerks doing the work.
    The second store in the town was opened by a man named Johnson. Shortly after he began business the rumor became current that he lived on crackers and molasses, and from that time he was known almost exclusively by the sobriquet of "Molasses Johnson." His store was in a "dug-out" near the old bridge.
    An old Rock Springs miner says that in the early '80s miners there were making from ten to fifteen dollars per day, but notwithstanding such wages they organized and struck for more. Chinamen were then brought in, which led to the riot of 1885, an account of which is given in another chapter. The Beckwith-Quinn store stood near the depot and the postoffice was kept in the store. The company had a Chinese department, in which several Chinamen were employed as clerks. At the time of the riot one of these clerks was kept concealed in the basement of the store for a week, as the rioters had ordered every Chinaman to leave town.
    The Rock Springs of the present day is quite different from the "one horse town" of forty years ago. Instead of only one store, there are now more than a score of well appointed mercantile houses. It has a city hall that is one of the finest public buildings in the state, a system of waterworks that cost over two hundred thousand dollars, three banks, two newspapers, an electric light plant, an $80,000 high school and modern grade school buildings, a postoffice building that cost the United States $90,000, the Elks have a $25,000 club house, and the Masonic fraternity has a fine temple. The Wyoming General Hospital is located here. The city takes its name from a large spring that flows from a rocky cliff. Rock Springs claims to be the most cosmopolitan city in Wyoming, having forty-one nationalities among its population of 5,699 in 1915. Stage lines run between Rock Springs and several of the outlying towns of Sweetwater County.
SARATOGA
    Twenty-one miles south of Walcott, on the upper waters of the North Platte River, in the south central part of Carbon County, is the town of Saratoga. It is a station on the Saratoga & Encampment Railroad, and was incorporated soon after the beginning of the present century. Near the town are the Saratoga Hot Springs, sometimes called the "Old Indian Bath Tubs," because thousands of Indians were accustomed to gather here in the early days. Analyses of the waters of these springs show them to be the equal of the waters of the famous Arkansas Hot Springs in their curative properties. A rich copper mining district lies east of the town. Saratoga has two banks, general stores, postoffice, telephone and telegraph connections, good public schools, churches of different denominations, etc., and in 1915 reported a population of 425.
SHERIDAN
Sheridan, the "Queen City of Northern Wyoming," is the county seat of Sheridan County. It is situated near the center of the county, on the Lincoln & Billings division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway system, at the point where the old Bozeman Road crossed the middle fork of the Tongue River. When the first white men came to this part of the state to settle they found on the banks of Little Goose Creek, a short distance south of the present City of Sheridan, a log house and a stable with room for twenty horses, which they afterward learned was the northern rendezvous of the notorious James brothers gang of bandits. When pressed by officers of the law in states where they had committed some offense, they sought refuge in the wilds of Northern Wyoming. Their retreat here was always kept in readiness for them by a negro named John Lewis and a white man known as "Big Nosed George." The latter was afterward hanged by the vigilantes of Miles City, Mont., for robbery and murder.
    The first cabin in Sheridan was built by O. P. Hanna, who was well known to Generals Crook, Terry and other commanders in the campaigns against the Indians as a capable and reliable scout. Henry A. Coffeen developed the plans for the town, and Edward Gillette, a civil engineer, surveyed the railroad and laid off certain mining claims near by. Sheridan was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, approved on March 6, 1884, and John D. Loucks, one of the pioneer business men, was elected the first mayor. At the time of its incorporation the city was only about two years old. When Sheridan County was created in 1888 this town was made the county seat, both county and town deriving their names from Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, who conducted several successful campaigns against the Indians of the Northwest.

    Sheridan has had a steady growth from the time it was founded. In 1890 its population was 281; ten years later it was 1,559; in 1910 it had grown to a city of 8,408; and the state census of 1915 reported a population of 8,906. It now claims to be the largest city in the state, having passed Cheyenne since the census of 1915 was taken, but that claim is based on estimates only.
    Few cities in the West are better equipped with public utilities. Sheridan has expended almost half a million dollars upon its waterworks and $145,000 upon its sewer system. The electric light and power plant cost $250,000 and the city has ten public school buildings, four of which cost $50,000 each. The railroad station built by the Burlington Company cost $100,000; the postoffice building, $225,000; the city hall, $50,000; the Elks club house, $75,000, and the Masonic fraternity has a fine temple. All the leading religious denominations are represented and most of them possess fine church buildings, some of which cost thirty thousand dollars or more. The city also has a free public library, the gift of Andrew Carnegie.


    Among the industrial institutions of Sheridan is a sugar factory which cost about one million dollars. The city also has a large flour mill, six banks, large mercantile interests, etc., but the most important industry is that of coal mining, some of the richest mines in Northern Wyoming lying near the city. North of the city is Fort Mackenzie, an army post upon which the United States Government .has expended $1,500,000. It is connected with Sheridan by an electric railway line. The Sheridan branch of the Wyoming General Hospital was established by an act of the Legislature and the state has expended $50,000 erecting buildings for the institution.

SHOSHONI
    The incorporated town of Shoshoni is located in the eastern part of Fremont County and takes its name from the Shoshone Indian reservation, which once extended to within a short distance of the town. It is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, about twenty-five miles northwest of the geographical center of the state. Considerable quantities of coal are mined in the vicinity and shipped from this point. Shoshoni has electric light and waterworks, a bank and opera house, a Congregational Church, lodges of some of the leading fraternal orders, and several general stores. This is the transfer point for passengers on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad for Bonneville, on the Chicago, Burlington & Qiiincy, five miles north, the transfer being made by automobile. The population in 1915 was 278.
SUBLET
Sublet is situated about eight miles north of Kemmerer. It is a mining town, mines No. 5 and No. 6 of the Kemmerer Coal Company being located here. The Oregon Short Line spur was completed to Sublet in 1907 and the town was soon afterward incorporated. In 1915 the population was 524, an increase of 177 during the preceding five years. The town claimed a population of 1,000 at the close of the year 1917.
SUNDANCE
    This town, which is the seat of justice of Crook County, is the smallest county seat town in the State of Wyoming, due mainly no doubt to the fact that it is the only one without railroad accommodations. It is situated southeast of the center of the county, on the upper waters of the Sundance Creek and near the base of Sundance Mountain. Daily stage lines connect Sundance with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Upton and Moorcroft, and with the Chicago & Northwestern at Aladdin and Spearfish, S. D.
    Originally, the country about Sundance was a pine forest and for years sawmills have carried on a profitable business. Seven miles from the town is the Bear Lodge mining district, in which there are several paying gold mines. Nearer the town are rich coal deposits that have been successfully worked for some time, but no coal is shipped, owing to the lack of transportation facilities. The United States land office for the district composed of Crook, Campbell and Weston counties is located at Sundance, as there is still a large quantity of the public domain in those three counties subject to entry and settlement.
    Sundance was incorporated some time in the '80s. It has two banks, a creamery, several general stores, hotel and restaurants. Episcopal and Methodist churches. a public school building, telephone connections with the surrounding tovv-ns, and in 1915 reported a population of 341.
SUPERIOR
    About twenty-five miles northeast of Rock Springs, on a spur of the Union Pacific Railroad, is the thriving mining Town of Superior, the second largest in Sweetwater County. It is the outgrowth of the developments made in the Rock Springs coal fields. The Union Pacific Coal Company opened the mines here early in the present century and now has a large store at Superior. The town has a bank, a modern public school building, churches of different denominations, etc., and in 1915 the population was 1,382.
    South Superior, on the same branch of railroad, is another incorporated town with a population of 265. It has a bank, general stores, a public school, etc. The population of South Superior is composed largely of foreigners. Both Superior and South Superior were incorporated since the census of 1910 was taken.
THERMOPOLIS
Sixty-five miles northwest of the geographical center of the state, is the City of Thermopolis, the county seat of Hot Springs County. The site of Thermopolis was originally within the limits of the Shoshone Indian Reservation. A small settlement was made at the mouth of Owl Creek–the northeast corner of the reservation. Among the early settlers there were Martin McGrath, now vice president of the First National Bank, William Slane and Edward Enderly, all of whom have contributed to the development of the city. About 1898 the town was moved from the mouth of Owl Creek to the Big Horn Hot Springs, from which Thermopolis derives its name. Congress gave to the state a square mile of land, upon which are the springs, and Thermopolis is partly upon the reservation.
    In April, 1908, the city authorities made a contract with the Havemeyer Construction Company for a system of waterworks to cost $48,475, and bonds were issued therefor. On April 15, 1918, additional bonds to the amount of $50,000 were voted with only a few dissenting votes, one-half the proceeds to be used in extending the waterworks and the other half in improving the sewer system. Electric light is furnished by the Thermopolis Light and Power Company.
    Thermopolis has three banks, two weekly newspapers (the Record and the Independent), Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal and Methodist church organizations, all owning church buildings, and the Presbyterians hold services in the Masonic Temple. Fourteen teachers were employed in the public schools during the school year of 1917-18. The mercantile establishments handle all lines of goods and the trade of the Thermopolis merchants extends for miles in every direction. There are few manufacturing concerns, but the great attraction is the springs. Several good hotels have been built within the last few years, which makes Thermopolis a favorite place for holding conventions. During the year 1917 nearly half a million dollars were expended in the erection of new buildings. The population in 1915 was 1,191, but at the close of the year 1917 the city claimed a population of 3,000.
TORRINGTON
    Torrington was incorporated in February, 1908, and when Goshen County was created in 1911 this town was made the county seat. It is located on the north bank of the Platte River and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, in the eastern part of the county, in the midst of a fine farming country irrigated by the Interstate Canal, for which it is the shipping and supply station. The site occupied by the town was once a camping place for emigrants on the famous Oregon Trail. A monument marking the old camping grounds was erected here by the Oregon Trail Commission in 1914.
    Torrington has three banks, a large grain elevator, dry goods, hardware, clothing, drug and miscellaneous stores, a modern public school building, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and claims a large number of handsome residences than any other town in the state with the same population. In 1910, the first census after the incorporation, Torrington had 155 inhabitants. In 1915, according to the state census, the population was 433. Since then a number of substantial business blocks and many new dwellings have been built, and at the close of the year 1917 the citizens claimed a population of about one thousand.
UPTON
    Eighteen miles northwest of Newcastle, in the northern part of Weston County, is the incorporated Town of Upton. It grew up after the building of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and was incorporated about 1907. Upton is the shipping and supply point for a large agricultural region in the northern part of Weston and the southern part of Crook counties, and daily mail and passenger stages run between Upton and several of the outlying towns. It has a bank, a large mercantile trade, a public school and in 1915 reported a population of 219.
WHEATLAND
    Among the newer towns of Wyoming that have made almost marvelous progress from the start is Wheatland, the county seat of Platte County. It was founded in 1894 and the next year the state census found there a population of 1,315. The town takes its name from the plateau called the "Wheatland Flats," a tract of some fifty thousand acres of irrigated land in the beautiful Laramie Valley near the center of the county. Some of the early business men of Wheatland, who were active in promoting the material welfare of the town, were H. F. Crain, I. W. Gray, F. E. Davis. T. J. and Owen Carroll, William Arnold, D. B. Rigdon and the firm of D. Miller & Son. A flour mill was established in 1896 and now has a daily capacity of 150 barrels of white flour, 40 barrels of corn meal, and 35 barrels of rye flour. In 1916 a Denver firm built an alfalfa mill which has a capacity of 5.000 tons of alfalfa meal annually. The Wheatland creamery turns out 250,000 pounds of butter every year.
    In 1896 some of the women of the town organized the Wheatland Library Association. A few volumes were collected and kept at Doctor Rigdon's residence until 1899, when Governor Carey presented the association with a corner lot and a small building was erected by donations. In this little building the library was housed until 1917, when a contribution for a new building was received from Andrew Carnegie. The cornerstone was laid in May and the building was opened to the public on the 28th of November. It is now known as the Platte County Public Library. The cost of the building was $13,500.
    Wheatland has three banks, a hospital, two weekly newspapers (the Times, and the World), several large and well appointed mercantile establishments, modern public school buildings in which fourteen teachers were employed during the school year of 1917-18, Catholic, Congregational, Episcopal and Methodist church organizations which own buildings, and Lutherans and Christian Scientists that hold meetings in rented quarters. The commercial club is composed of wideawake men and loses no opportunity to advertise the town. Many carloads of grain and livestock are shipped from Wheatland every year, over the Colorado & Southern Railway.
WORLAND
    Worland, the county seat of the new County of Washakie, is situated on the Big Horn River and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, about half way between Thermopolis and Basin. It was incorporated just in time to get into the United States census of 1910, when it showed a population of 265. Five years later the population was 454, and recent developments in the oil fields near the town have had the efifect of bringing in a number of new inhabitants.
    In 1914 Prof. B. C. Buffum, then a resident of Worland, evolved or discovered the plant known as emmer. Professor Buflfum, A. G. Rupp, C. F. Robertson, M. G. Hamilton and J. S. Russell then organized the Emmer Products Company and built the only mill in the world for utilizing the grain in the manufacture of breakfast food. Much of the emmer grain comes from Northern Colorado, but a considerable portion of it is grown upon the farms of Washakie and adjoining counties. The mill has a daily capacity of nearly four hundred cases of the cereals.
    Another large institution at Worland is the sugar mill, which was completed in 1917 at a cost of nearly one million dollars. Before the close of the year the mill had turned out 50,000 sacks of sugar, each weighing 100 pounds. Nearly thirty thousand tons of sugar beets were used, for which the mill paid the farmers $7.00 per ton.
    Worland has three banks, a $30,000 school building, a number of well stocked stores, many cozy homes, Baptist, Methodist, Congregational and Christian Scientist church organizations, though only the first two denominations own church buildings. The Wyoming Industrial School is located near Worland. The Worland Grit, a weekly newspaper, has the reputation of being one of the best county papers in the state.
OTHER TOWNS
    The foregoing towns and cities include all the incorporated municipalities given by the state census of 1915, with the exception of a few minor towns, the population of which was less than one hundred each. Scattered over the state are a number of towns that in 1915 were not incorporated. A few of those have been incorporated since the census was taken, and many of them are as important in a commercial and industrial sense as some of those included in the above list.
    Following are principal towns in each county, in addition to those above described:
    Albany–Buford, Foxpark, Hermosa (or Tie Siding), Lookout, Sherman, Springhill and Wilcox.
    Bighorn–Bonanza, Burlington, Germania, Hyattville, Iona, Otto and Shell.
    Campbell–Croton, Kier, Morse, Rozet and Wessex.
    Carbon–Carbon, Fort Steele, Rambler, Riverside, Savery and Walcott.
Converse–Careyhnrst, Inez, McKinley and Ross.
    Crook–Aladdin, Beulah, Colony, Farrall and Hulett.
    Fremont–Atlantic City, Boulder, Kendall, Lost Cabin. Moneta, Pacific, Pine-dale and South Pass City.
    Goshen–Fort Laramie. Lagrange, Whalen and Wyncote.
    Hot Springs–Crosby. Embar, Gebo, Kirby and Lucerne.
    Johnson–Barnum, Kearney, Mayoworth and Trabing.
    Laramie–Areola, Carpenter, Egbert, Hillsdale, Islay and Silver Crown.
    Lincoln–Auburn, Beckwith, Cumberland, Elkol, Fossil, Freedom, Frontier, Marbleton, Opal and Thayne.
    Natrona–Alcova, Waltman and Wolton.
    Niobrara–Hatcreek, Jireh, Keeline and Van Tassell.
    Park–Garland, Ishawooa and Wapita.
    Platte–Chugwater, Glendo, Ironton, Sunrise and Uva.
    Sheridan–Acme, Arvada, Big Horn. Clearmont. Kooi, Monarch. Parkman and Story.
    Sweetwater–Bryan. Point of Rocks, Sweetwater and Wamsutter.
    Uinta–Almy, Carter, Fort Bridger, Hilliard, Lonetree, Piedmont, Robertson and Springvalley.
    Washakie–Bigtrails, Neiber and Ten Sleep.
    Weston–Boyd, Clifton, Osage and Spencer.