USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume I > Part 45
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Cobalt. Albany County, with gold-copper ores in Medicine Bow mines at Holmes. Laramie County, with copper ores in Silver Crown district.
Copper ( native). Albany County, in granite at Rambler mine, Grand Encamp- ment district. Fremont County, Copper Mountain district. Platte and Goshen counties, Hartville Uplift ; mined in Iron Belt mines. Tie Siding, Albany County.
Copper Minerals. Copper is the predominant metal produced in the follow- ing districts : Albany County, Douglas Creek, Horse Creek, Jelm Mountains and Laramie Peak; Carbon County, Encampment, French Creek, Rankin and Semi- noe; Converse County, Warbonnet; Fremont County, Copper Mountain, De Pass and Owl Creek; Goshen County, Rawhide Buttes; Johnson County, Bull Camp : Laramie County, Hecla ; Natrona County, Casper Mountain ; Park County, Kirwin, Sunlight ; Uinta County, Cockscomb. See also Azurite, Bornite, Chal- cocite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Covellite, Cuprite, Malachite, Melaconite, Ten- nantite and Tenorite.
Corundum (emery). Fremont County, Wind River range : not mined.
Covellite. Albany County, mined at Rambler mine at Holmes, Grand Encamp- ment district. Platte and Goshen counties, Hartville Uplift.
Cuprite (red copper oxide ). Albany County, Rambler mine at Holmes, Grand Encampment district. Bighorn County, prospects in Bull Creek, Walker Prairie, in Big Horn Mountains. Crook County, associated with hard carbonate ores at Black Buttes and Inyankara Peak ; has been mined. Platte and Goshen counties, mined in Hartville Uplift; prospects in Whalen Canyon, Muskrat Canyon and Rawhide buttes.
Epsomite (Epsom salt, magnesium sulphate). Long, needle-shaped crystals in soda lakes in Albany, Carbon and Natrona counties. Brooklyn Lake, area ninety acres, covered with nearly pure deposit, near Wilcox Station, Albany County.
Flagstone. Common in same localities as marble, limestone and sandstones. Has been quarried for local use.
Galena (argentiferous). Albany County, mined for gold and silver in gneiss and schist at Jelm. Carbon County, at Ferris in fissure veins with quartz, cerusite, anglesite. Crook County, has been mined at Black Buttes. Park County, Kir- win. Albany County, Esterbrook.
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
Gas. See Natural Gas.
Gold (lode). Produced in following districts, in most cases predominant metal: Albany County, Centennial, Holmes, and Jelm Mountains ; Crook County, Bear Lodge and Black Buttes; Fremont County, Atlantic, Owl Creek and South Pass; Goshen County, Rawhide Buttes; Laramie County, Hecla ; Lincoln County, Horse Creek, eighty-five miles north of Kemmerer, near Merna. See also Cyl- vanite.
Gold (placer). Albany County, Douglas Creek and Keystone; Bighorn County, Shoshone River and Bald Mountain ; Carbon County, on the South French Creek; Crook County, Sand Creek and Nigger Hill; Fremont County, Atlantic and Lewiston; South Pass City, hydraulicking. In 1912-13 was dredged on Wind River, seven miles west of Riverton and eight miles northeast of Riverton, near Noble. Johnson County, in Kelley Creek, near Buffalo, and in Big Horn Mountains; Park County, Shoshone River and Clark Fort at Crandall; Sweet- water County, Green River; Uinta County, in sands of Snake River, mined inter- mittently, and on Snake Creek.
Granite. Abundant in Big Horn Mountains, Hartville Uplift, Laramie range and Medicine Bow range; production small.
Graphite (plumbago). Fremont County, near Miners' Delight ; Goshen County, Haystack Hills; Platte County, near Ironton (has been mined) ; Platte County, Halleck Canon.
Grindstone. Carbon County, quarried near Rawlins ; small production.
Gypsum. Albany County, rock gypsum is mined at Red Butte, and used by one mill for making plaster ; gypsite, or earthy gypsum, is dug near Laramie and used by two mills for making plaster. Has been mined west of Sheridan ; occurs abundantly in Bighorn, Carbon, Converse, Crook, Fremont, Johnson, Laramie, Natrona, Sweetwater, Uinta and Weston counties.
Halite (common salt). In soda lakes in Albany, Carbon and Natrona coun- ties. Salt springs numerous in several counties. Crook County, at Cambria, salt was made by evaporating water of Salt Creek.
Hematite (red iron ore). Carbon County, extensive deposit north of Raw- lins was mixed with flux; also on south side of the Seminoe Mountains, thirty- five miles north of Rawlins, and at Jelm mines. Platte and Goshen counties, chief ore of Hartville iron range ; mined at Sunrise, Lone Jack and Good Fortune mines.
Ilmenite (titanic iron ore). Laramie County, Iron Mountain; immense dike not mined.
Iron. Iron is the chief metal produced in Laramie County, at Iron Mountain, and in Platte County, at Hartville. Chromic iron ore is produced in Converse County, in Deer Creek district. See also Brown iron ore, Chromite, Hematite, Limenite, Magnetite, Mineral paint, Pyrite and Pyrrhotite.
Kaolin. Carbon County, occurs near the soda lake, pure and in quantity.
Lead. See Anglesite, Cerusite and Galena.
Limestone. Albany County, three miles northeast of Laramie, used for lime in beet sugar refining. Limestones of Carboniferous and Jurassic ages in many counties afford an abundance of good lime suitable for plaster; some of these limestones are hydraulic.
Limestone (building). Quarried: Albany County, at Laramie; Carbon
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
County, Rawlins; Fremont County, Thermopolis ; Laramie County, Horse Creek ; Platte County, Hartville and near Guernsey ; Sheridan County, Sheridan; Sweet- water County, Green River.
Limestone (flux). Quarried: Carbon County, at Rawlins; Platte County, Guernsey ; Bartlett Quarries, at Hartville.
Limonite (brown hematite). See Brown iron ore.
Magnetite (magnetic iron ore). Albany County, in diorite near Foxpark. Carbon County, with hematite, near Rawlins.
Malachite (green carbonate of copper). Albany County, abundant in Ran- bler mine, and found in Blanche mine at Holmes, Grand Encampment district. Carbon and Crook counties, prospects at Bull Camp and Walker Prairie, in Big Horn Mountains, with other ores. Park County, Kirwin, as vein mineral. Platte and Goshen counties, important ore of Hartville Uplift; mined at Green Hope, Silver Cliff, Lone Jack and Copper Belt mines.
Manganese ore. Albany County, west side of Laramie Peak.
Marble. Albany County, west flank of Laramie range; east flank Medicine Bow range; 100-foot ledge of good quality, Copper Lake Station. Converse County, Douglas, red, good quality. Crook County, west flank Black Hills. Fremont County, Rattlesnake Mountains. Johnson County, Big Horn Mountains. Platte County, Hartville, east bank Laramie range, abundant in the Carbonifer- ous ; pure white marble occurs twenty miles west of Wheatland.
Marl. Albany County, fifteen feet pure marl, eight miles southwest of Laramie.
Melaconite (black oxide of copper). Albany County, quantity in Rambler mine, Holmes. Platte County, Michigan mine.
Mica (muscovite). Albany County, in Medicine Bow range. Converse County, occurs in sizable plates at Glenrock. Fremont County, sixty miles west of Lander. Goshen County, in Haystack Mountains near Hartville. Platte County, near Ironton.
Mineral paint. Carbon County, made from soft iron ore at Rawlins. Suit- able material at Hartville and other iron localities.
Mirabilite (sodium) sulphate, glauber salt). In soda lakes in Albany, Carbon and Natrona counties ; has been mined in Albany County near Laramie and in Natrona County, Sweetwater Valley.
Molybdenite. Park County, in Bryan mine at Kirwin. Strong mine, Albany.
Monazite. Carbon County, in black sands in Bald Mountain district. Sheri- dan County, reported from Big Horn Mountains.
Natron (carbonate of soda). Sweetwater County, Green River; borings in the Wasatch sandstone (Eocene?) at depth of 125 and 700 feet yield an almost concentrated solution of sodium carbonate utilized for the manufacture of caustic soda. Common in the soda lakes of Albany, Carbon, Natrona and Sweetwater counties ; not marketed.
Natural gas. Bighorn County, Big Horn Basin gas field ; gas from anticlines at western base of Big Horn Mountains : used commercially at Basin, Byron, Lovell and Greybull. Converse County, small field near Douglas. Hot Springs County, considerable quantities, as yet not utilized, in Grass Creek oil field. Occurs in central Park County, near Cody, and in southern Park County, in Buffalo Basin.
Nickel ore. Converse County, in pyrrhotite, Esterbrook district. Laramie
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
County, in ores of Ulcahoma mine, and associated with copper ores, Little London mine, near Hecla.
Niter. Sweetwater County, soda niter in Leucite Hills.
Oil. See Petroleum.
Oil shale. See Shale.
Ozokerite (mineral wax). Fremont County, occurs twenty miles southeast of Lander. Sweetwater and Uinta counties, near Colorado line, in Tertiary and Cretaceous ; shipped east for use in manufacture of ointments and insulating material.
Palladium. Albany County, in copper ores with platinum in Rambler mine at Holmes.
Petrified wood. Common in badlands in many parts of the state.
Petroleum. Productive areas of considerable importance in Bighorn County, near Basin, Byron and Greybull. About fifteen wells drilled on Torchlight Dome, three miles east of Basin; ten wells on a small anticline directly north of this dome ; and about thirty-five wells on the Greybull Dome, at the mouth of Grey- bull River. Petroleum, paraffin base, in Fremont County, north and east of Lander, near Riverton, Saddlerock; in Hot Springs County, along Grass Creek, five miles northwest of Ilo; and in Natrona County, at Salt Creek, north of Casper. Hot Springs County, in Grass Creek anticline, twenty or more wells drilled; nearly all found oil. Petroleum occurs in small quantities in Bighorn County, near Bonanza ; in Converse County, near Douglas ; in Crook County, near Moorcroft; in Johnson County, along Powder River; in Lincoln County, near Labarge; in Weston County, near Newcastle ; and in Uinta County, near Spring Valley. The total production of the state in 1913 was 2,406,522 barrels, valued at $1,187,232 ; in 1914 it was 3.560,375 barrels, valued at $1,679,192.
Phosphate rock. Fremont County, extends fifty miles northwest and south- east from Lander and occurs along northern boundary. Hot Springs County, underlies area near Thermopolis and along southern boundary. Lincoln County, mined and shipped at Cokeville ; large area 140 miles long ; beds ten feet thick.
Platinum. Albany County, in copper ores of the Rambler mine, at Holmes. Lincoln County, in concentrates from Snake River placers. See also Sperrylite.
Potash. Sweetwater County, large quantity in wyomingite and other rocks of Leucite Hills No method known for making it commercially available. See also Niter.
Pumice. Albany County, beds four to six feet thick near Sportsman's Lake.
Pyrite (iron pyrites). Albany County, with copper ores, Encampment dis- trict, in Jelm and Ulcahoma mines; mined for gold and silver content. Sweet- water and other counties, with gold and quartz veins; little worked.
Pyrrhotite. Albany and Converse counties, underlying iron oxides at Cooney Hill and with copper ores in prospects in North Laramie district.
Road metal. See Asphalt, Granite, Limestone, Marble and Sandstone.
Salt. Uinta County, mined at Auburn. Salt produced from brine south of Star Valley on Salt Creek. See also Halite.
Sand (building). Dug in small quantity for local use at many places.
Sand (glass). Albany County, from soft sandstone of Casper formation. Has been quarried three miles east of Laramie.
Sandstone. Albany County, quarried at Laramie, small quantity. Bighorn
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
County, Cody : Carbon County, Rawlins ; Crook County, Aladdin ; Fremont County, Lander and Thermopolis; Laramie County, Iron Mountain and Underwood ; Sheridan County, Arno, Dietz and Absarokee Park; Uinta County, Cumberland, Evanston, Oakley, Frontier and Glencoe; and at many other towns and villages.
Shale. Albany County, used for making brick at Laramie.
Shale (oil). Green River formation (Eocene), in southwestern part of the state, on Green River and its tributaries ; some shale rich in oil.
Silver (native). Platte County, Silver Cliff mine in Hartville Uplift and in other copper mines. See also Argentitc, Cerargyrite and Sylvanite.
Sperrylite. Albany County, has been found at Rambler mine, Holmes.
Sphalerite. Platte County, mined with hematite in Hartville mines.
Sulphur. Hot Springs County, massive and in small crystals, in travertine near Thermopolis; mined and shipped. Park County, in local deposits on south side of Shoshone River; at lower end of Shoshone Canyon, and on west side of Sulphur Creek; occurs in the Sunlight Basin, fifty-two miles northwest of Cody ; has been mined near Cody.
Sylvanite. Crook County, occurs in Bear Lodge Mountains.
Tennantite. Platte County, has been mined north of Guernsey in Copper Bottom prospect, southeast quarter section 23, township 29 north, range 65 west.
Tenorite. Albany County, quantity at Rambler mine, Holmes.
Thorium. See Monazite.
Tin. See Cassiterite.
Titanium. See Ilmenite.
Travertine. Hot Springs County, near Thermopolis, on Big Horn River (abun- dant ), and in Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern part of the state.
Trona (sodium carbonate). Sweetwater County, number of wells at Green- water ; produce good soda; shipped.
Tufa. See Travertine.
Tungsten. See Wolframite.
Wolframite. Albany County, small stringer in copper mine near Holmes.
Wood, silicified. Abundant in Yellowstone National Park.
Wyomingite. Sweetwater County, in Leucite Hills, abundant. Future source of potash when method for making it commercially available is discovered.
Yttrium. See Allanite.
Zinc. See Sphalerite.
CHAPTER XXVI
FINANCIAL HISTORY
EARLY CONDITIONS IN WYOMING FINANCIAL GROWTH-ASSESSMENTS OF 1889 AND 1917 COMPARED-PUBLIC REVENUES-THE BONDED DEBT-SECURITY-BANKING, ORIGIN OF-BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES-WYOMING BANKS-STATE BANKING LAWS-BANKS IN 1890-PIONEER BANKERS-BANKS IN 1918-STATE BANKERS ASSOCIATION.
Only a little more than fifty years ago the first actual settlers of Wyoming began the work of building up a state in a region that for many years had been considered unfit for habitation by civilized people. There were no weaklings among those pioneers. Most of them were men of courage and energy, full of hope for the future, but unfortunately they possessed but a limited amount of ready cash. It is the history of every new state that, until the resources are de- veloped to a point that yields an income, the demand for public expenditures out- strips the sources of public revenues. In creating the temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming, Congress helped by making appropriations for certain purposes, and by granting large tracts of land, though the land was then of slight value. In fact the land did not acquire a value until the number of inhabitants grew sufficiently to create a demand for it for homes and ranches. During these early years the burden of taxation fell heavily upon the settlers, yet they never faltered in their determination to conquer the wilderness and establish their state upon a firm foundation.
FINANCIAL GROWTH
No doubt the best method of determining the financial growth of the state is by a comparison of the assessed valuation of property taken at different periods. While these valuations in Wyoming have been somewhat fluctuating at times, the general trend has been steadily upward. In 1889 the Territory of Wyoming was twenty years old. The financial progress during those twenty years is shown in the last report of the territorial secretary, in which the assessed valua- tion of property is given as follows :
Albany County $4,122,194
Carbon County 3,784,028
Converse County 2,146,364
Crook County 2,278,496
Fremont County 1,819,738
Johnson County 1,963,648
Laramie County
7,925,87I
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
Sheridan County
$1,228,756
Sweetwater County
3,142,232
Uinta County
3,019,166
Total for the territory
$31,430,493
The year following this assessment Wyoming was admitted into the Union as a state and the United States census for that year showed a population of 62,555, including 1,850 Indians not distributed by counties. The per capita wealth of the territory was therefore only a little over five hundred dollars. In 1889 there were but ten counties, none of which showed an assessed valuation of ten million dollars. Now, compare the above valuation with that of 1917, to wit :
County
Valuation
Albany
$15,585,683
Bighorn
9,135,482
Campbell
6,363,463
Carbon 16,622,257
Converse
9,927,722
Crook
7,357,255
Fremont
12,985,999
Goshen
6,062,773
Hot Springs
6,591,102
Johnson
7,272,918
Laramie
25,190,855
Lincoln
16,856,331
Natrona
19,074,557
Niobrara
6,463,414
Park
8,330,187
Platte
10,816,282
Sheridan
21,203,057
Sweetwater
21,935,562
Uinta
9,418,068
Washakie
4,188,332
Weston
6,515.346
Total for the state
$247,896,645
During the period of statehood since 1800, the number of counties increased to twenty-one, nine of which returned a valuation of over ten millions of dollars each, and three returned a valuation of over twenty million dollars each. Estimating the population in 1918 at one hundred and fifty-five thousand, the per capita wealth of the state was almost sixteen hundred dollars. Thus, while the population increased less than two hundred per cent, the assessed valuation increased nearly seven hundred per cent. Then, too, it should be borne in mind that the assessed valuation of property is far below the actual value, in many instances not much over one-half. It would probably be a conservative statement to say that the taxable property of the state is worth at least four hundred million dollars, in which case the per capita wealth would be over twenty-five hundred dollars.
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
PUBLIC REVENUES
The framers of the Wyoming Constitution provided that the tax levied annu- ally for state purposes-exclusive of that levied for the support of the educa- tional and charitable institutions-should not exceed four mills on the dollar. A limit was also placed upon the rate levied in the several counties and municipal- ities for local purposes. While the general tax thus provided for is the principal source of revenue, the state derives a large income every year from land rentals, leases and sales, etc. According to the report of the state treasurer for the biennial period ending on September 30, 1916, the total receipts for the last year of that period amounted to $2,182,341.40. The main sources of income were as follows :
Direct property tax $847.938.55
Land rentals and interest 355,912.43
Sales of state lands 307.982.43
Fees of state officers and boards 82,793.91
Interest, treasury department 77,803.22
United States forest reserve fund
80,913.93
Tax on insurance companies 37,289.66
Game department 29,193,74
United States Agricultural College fund. 50,000.00
Workmen's Compensation (employers assessment). 184.903.56
Miscellaneous receipts
127,609.97
Total
$2,182.341.40
In the disbursement of public funds the constitution provides that no money shall be paid out of the treasury except on appropriations made by the Legisla- ture, though the state treasurer may pay interest on the public debt without legisla- ive appropriation, but in no case can the treasurer pay out money without a warrant from the proper authority. Some years ago the Legislature created a board of deposits, consisting of the governor, secretary of state and the state treasurer, to select banks in which to deposit the state's funds, said banks to be designated as state depositories, to furnish satisfactory security and pay interest upon the deposits. At the close of the year ending on September 30, 1916, eighty-nine banks in the state were listed as state depositories and paid the state three per cent interest on daily balances. The total amount received by the state was $77,803.22, as shown by the report of the state treasurer, though a portion of this was interest upon trust funds and permanent investments.
At the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 1914, the state treasurer re- ported a balance in the treasury of $718,426.85. Two years later, without any increase in the rate of taxation, the balance in the treasury or deposited in the accredited banks amounted to $1,046,656.07.
THE BONDED DEBT
The Territorial Legislature of 1886 passed acts providing for the erection of a capitol building at Cheyenne to cost $150,000; an insane asylum at Evan- ston to cost $30,000; a state university building at Laramie to cost $50,000;
415
HISTORY OF WYOMING
and an institute for the blind, deaf and dumb at Cheyenne for the support of which an appropriation of $8,000 was made. To pay for the erection of the buildings provided for in the act, the territorial authorities were authorized to issue bonds. In his report for the year 1887, Mortimer N. Grant, territorial audi- tor, gave the amount of outstanding bonds as $230,000. He also reported that these bonds, drawing six per cent interest, had been sold at a premium and constituted the entire debt of the territory. This debt was assumed by the State of Wyoming upon its admission to the Union three years later.
The Constitution of Wyoming provides that the state shall not create any indebtedness in excess of one per cent of the assessed valuation of the taxable property, except to suppress insurrection or to provide for the public defense. Another constitutional provision is that "No debt in excess of the taxes for the current year shall in any manner be created in the State of Wyoming, unless the proposition to create such debt shall have been submitted to a vote of the people and by them approved, except to suppress insurrection or to provide for public defense."
Under these wise provisions the Legislatures of Wyoming have adopted the policy of defraying the cost of new institutions by tax levies rather than by issuing bonds, proceeding on the theory that it is less burdensome to pay taxes for two or three years than to pay interest on long term bonds. The result is that the state has never issued many bonds for any purpose. According to the state treasurer's report for the biennial period ending on September 30, 1916, the bonds then outstanding were as follows: Insane asylum bonds issued in 1887, due $3,000 on January Ist of each year, $15,000 ; public building bonds issued in 1888, due $9,000 each year beginning on July 1, 1919. $90,000, making a total bonded indebtedness of $105,000, the interest on which is six per cent per annum. This is an indebtedness of only about seventy cents per capita for the population of the state.
SECURITY
And what assurance has the holder of the Wyoming state bonds that the debt will be paid? The bonds issued by the territory and afterward assumed by the state constitute a lien upon every dollar's worth of property within the limits of Wyoming. Even at the low rate of assessment for tax purposes, the property of the state showed a valuation of $247,896,645 in 1917, or more than two thousand dollars of assets for each dollar of liabilities. Leaving private property out of the question, the state in its corporate capacity owns lands and public buildings worth many times the outstanding bonds. Under these conditions there is no wonder that the bonds of Wyoming should command a premium in all the financial centers of the country.
BANKING
The earliest public bank known was the Bank of Venice, which was estab- lished in 1171 as a bank of deposit, the Government being responsible for the fund deposited with the bank. It went down with the Venetian empire in 1797.
Modern banking methods originated with the Bank of Florence, established
416
HISTORY OF WYOMING
about the middle of the Fourteenth Century. It was soon followed by the Bank of Genoa and for many years the Italian bankers dominated the financial transac- tions of the civilized world.
The Bank of Amsterdam was founded in 1609 and ten years later the Bank of Hamburg opened its doors for business. At that time there was no bank in England and the business men who had a surplus of funds deposited with the mint in the Tower of London until Charles I appropriated the fund on deposit to the royal use. After that English merchants deposited their funds with the goldsmiths, who became bankers in a small way, loaning money for short periods and paying interest on deposits left with them for a given time.
In 1690 the Bank of Sweden invented and first issued bank notes. This was an important agency in leading William Patterson to suggest the Bank of Eng- land, which was chartered in 1694. England and France were then at war and subscribers to the war loan of £1,500,000 became stockholders in the bank to the extent of their subscriptions to the loan.
BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES
The first bank in the United States was established at Philadelphia in 1780 and was known as the Pennsylvania Bank. It was founded by Robert Morris, George Clymer and a few others and played an important part in saving the financial credit of the new republic. In 1781 it was reorganized as the Bank of North America and continued for ten years, when the Bank of the United States was incorporated by act of Congress and given a twenty-year charter. The capital stock was limited to $10,000,000 and the bank was made the fiscal agent of the United States. Upon the expiration of the charter in 1811, Congress failed to renew it, and the business of the bank passed into the hands of Stephen Girard of Philadelphia.
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