There's a lot to discover in Wyoming. Did you know. . ?
"Emigrant Trails Throughout Wyoming" website
You can experience the emigrant trails in Wyoming without leaving your school or home. The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office has a website that shows what life was like on the many trails that passed through Wyoming. You can see photos of trail landmarks, hear audio clips of people describing the history of the trails, and explore the geography of Wyoming through interactive maps.
You can explore this website by clicking on different subjects such as: graves, landmarks, rivers & crossings, and forts & stations. You can also start at the beginning and follow the trail the way the emigrants experienced it. To follow the trail in order, click on "Travel the Trail" and use the "Continue" or "Back" buttons to move along the trail.
One feature of this website that is very fun and interesting is the Emigrant Trails interactive map. You can zoom in on a section of Wyoming, and then use the hotlink tool from the toolbar to find out about specific places.
This site is best viewed on a high-speed internet connection. You will also need Real Player and Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have one or both of these click on the links below.
Click Here for Real Player
Click Here for Acrobat Reader
Historical
In 1852 the first school house in Wyoming was built at Fort Laramie.
In 1867 Union Pacific Railroad arrived in Cheyenne.
In 1867 the town site of Cheyenne was laid out.
In 1878 Thomas Edison viewed a solar eclipse south of Rawlins on July 29th.
In 1913 Wyoming was the first state to demand wrapped bread.
In 1937 one of the world's largest steam engines "Big Boy" was put in Holiday Park in Cheyenne.
1958 Cheyenne became home to the world's first Atlas ICBM base. It is now the largest Minute Man missile base in the free world.
Uranium was first discovered in Wyoming in 1949, but the most famous discovery occurred in 1953 when Neil McNeice located the radioactive mineral in the Gas Hills of central Wyoming. Production during the 1950s centered around the Gas Hills and the nearby Shirley Basin.
Wyoming was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, was a Yellowstone Park Ranger as a young man.
In a famous 1941 stunt, George Hopkins parachuted onto Devils Tower. He was stranded there for six days before being rescued.
In 1902, the JCPenney stores were started in Kemmerer.
It took four treaties for the United States to get the land that makes up Wyoming, more than for any other state.
Equality Heritage
In 1834 Wyoming had the first business west of the Missouri River, a trading post ran by veteran fur traders William Sublette and Robert Campbell.
In 1870 Wyoming had the first women bailiff, Mary Atkinson.
In 1869 Wyoming was the first territory to give women the right to vote.
In 1870 Wyoming had the first woman Justice of the Peace, Esther Hobart Morris.
In 1870 Wyoming had the first woman to serve on a grand jury, Eliza Stewart.
In 1894 Wyoming had the first woman State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Estelle Reel.
In 1920 Wyoming allowed the first woman to vote in a presidential election.
Nellie Tayloe Ross wasn't only a first lady of Wyoming but in 1925 she became the first woman governor for Wyoming, she was also the first woman governor in the nation. In 1933 she became the first woman as the director of the U.S. Mint appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
First Town in America to be Governed Entirely by Women: The city of Jackson, from 1920 to 1921, had a woman mayor, town council and town marshall. One of the councilwomen defeated her husband for her council seat.
Wyoming Firsts
In 1872, Yellowstone was established as the first National Park in the United States.
In 1886 Wyoming had the nations first county public library ran by Mrs. E. Manson Smith.
Shoshone became the nation's first National Forest in1891.
Theodore Roosevelt named Devils Tower as the nation's first National Monument in 1906.
First Ranger Station: Wapiti Ranger Station was established in the Shoshone National Forest in 1891.
First Artificially Lit Evening Football Game: The first interscholastic football game to be played under artificial light took place in Midwest, Wyoming in 1925.
Numbers
Wyoming is home to the world's largest single elk herd.
Wyoming is first in bentonite and soda ash (Trona) production.Largest cities in 2000:
Cheyenne: 53,011
Casper: 49,644
Laramie: 27,204
Gillette: 19,646
Rock Springs: 18,708Square Miles: 97,914
Highest Point: Gannet Peak at 13,804 feet
Lowest Point: Belle Fourche River at 3,100 feet
Population: 493,782 (2000 Census)
Male Population: 248,374 (2000 Census)
Female Population: 245,408
Median Age: 36.2
Wyoming is the 9th largest state, but has the fewest people (493,782).
The largest (cleanest burning) coal resources in the United States are found in Wyoming. Wyoming lands are estimated to contain 1.4 trillion tons of coal. The world's largest surface coalmine complex is located near Gillette. Wyoming leads the nation in the production of coal, bentonite, and trona.
Wyoming is a fisherman's paradise with 15,846 miles of fishing streams and 297,633 acres of fishing lakes. There are 3,400 lakes, ponds and reservoirs that support 76 species of fish, 31 species of which are game fish.
Wyoming ranks second in wool production, and has over 810,000 sheep.
The world's largest bronze bust, a likeness of Abraham Lincoln, is located near Laramie. University of Wyoming sculptor Robert Russin created the bust, which weighs 3 short tons (3.2 metric tons). It is 12 feet (3.8 meters) tall and rests on a stone base 30 feet (9 meters) high.
Bordering states: Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah
The world's largest single mineral hot spring is located in Wyoming's Hot Springs State Park. Millions of gallons of water containing at least 27 different minerals flow through the spring every 24 hours, always at a constant temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wyoming March Song
Lyrics: C.E. Winter
Music: G.E. Knapp
Verse 1: In the far and mighty West, where the crimson sun Seeks rest, There's a growing splendid state that lies above on the breast of this great land; Where the massive Rockies stand, There's Wyoming young and strong, the State I love!
Verse 2: In thy flowers wild and sweet, Colors rare and perfumes meet; There's the columbine so pure, the daisy too, Wild the rose and red it springs, White the button and its rings, Thou art loyal for they're red and white and blue.
Verse 3: Where thy peaks with crowned head, Rising till the sky they wed, Sit like snow queens ruling wood and stream and plain; Neath thy granite bases deep, Neath thy bosom's broadened sweep, Lie the riches that have gained and brought thee fame.
Verse 4: Other treasures thou dost hold, Men and women thou dost mold; True and earnest are the lives that thou dost raise; Strength thy children dost teach, Nature's truth thou givst to each, Free and noble are thy workings and thy ways.
Verse 5: In the nation's banner free There's one star that has for me A radiance pure and a splendor like the sun; Mine it is, Wyoming's star, Home it leads me near or far; O Wyoming! All my heart and love you've won!
Chorus: Wyoming, Wyoming! Land of the sunlight clear! Wyoming, Wyoming! Land that we hold so dear! Wyoming, Wyoming! Precious art thou and thine; Wyoming, Wyoming! Beloved State of Mine!
The Yellowstone Drug Store in Shoshoni, Wyoming was formerly located in the Shawver Hotel, which was built in 1909 by Lou A. Shawver. Mr. Shawver, who operated the hotel and drug store from 1909 until the 1940's, was a pharmacist, watch repairman, hotel manager, and the creator of the "best malts and shakes in the state, " as his sign proudly boasted.
The drug store has changed hands a number of times and has been moved across the street to the Masonic Building. This building was constructed in the early 1900's and housed a large grocery store and post office. Later tenants included the Linn and Smart Mercantile Company, C.H. King Company General Merchandise (C.H. King was grandfather of U.S. President Gerald Ford), the first National Bank of Shoshoni, and the Masons.
The bank vaults are still in use to this day, and visitors may tour them. The Yellowstone Drug Store still displays its sign and travelers still come from afar to enjoy a good old-fashioned malt.
