USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume I > Part 60
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This affair, with the threatening attitude of the Indians north and northeast of the city, led to the organization of a volunteer military company that adopted the name of the "Cheyenne Rangers." A. H. Swan was chosen captain, John Talbott and Herman Glafcke, lieutenants. W. P. Carroll, who afterward wrote an account of the company for the Cheyenne Leader, says that at one of the early meetings of the company some one proposed the election of a second set of officers to act as alternates in the event of the absence of those first chosen. The motion was carried and another set of officers was chosen, leaving Mr. Carroll "the only private in the company." He was a new arrival in the city, which probably accounts for his not being elected to an office.
Each man was to furnish h's own horse and equipment, to be ready at any moment to respond to a call to arms. As the Indian scare subsided, interest in the company also abated, though meetings were held regularly for several weeks. At one of these meetings W. G. Provines offered a motion that every member of the company be required to provide and carry with him a large bucket. When
SENATOR WARREN'S RESIDENCE, CHEYENNE .
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asked what for, he replied "To catch the blood in." Whether or not this sarcasm was responsible for the disbanding of the company is not certain, but that was the last meeting of which there is any record.
WHEN TEN YEARS OLD
In 1877, when Cheyenne was ten years old, the city was visited by Mrs. Carrie A. Strahorn, whose husband, Robert E. Strahorn, was for several years in charge of the advertising and publicity department of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Some years later Mrs. Strahorn published a book entitled "Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage," in which she describes the scenery and resources of Wyoming. Concerning Cheyenne at that time she says :
"Of all the forlorn, homesick looking towns, Cheyenne never had an equal. Without a spear of grass, without a tree within scope of the eye, with- out water except as it was pumped up for domestic use, with a soil sandy, hard and barrren-that was the raw Cheyenne in the '70s."
With the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in the early '70s, Cheyenne came into prominence as an outfitting point for prospectors and others going to the new mines. A line of stage coaches and freighters was opened to the min- ing districts, and Mrs. Strahorn tells of the dialogue between an outgoing and a returning freighter, in which the former, when asked of what his cargo con- sisted, answered: "Twenty barrels of whisky and a sack of flour." Whereupon the other laconically inquired: "What in hell are you going to do with so much flour ?"
The story is an exaggeration, but there is no question that whisky was then an important article of commerce, not only in Cheyenne, but also in the other towns and cities of the West. Mrs. Strahorn also mentions the great hail storm in the spring of 1878, the worst in the city's history. On this subject she says:
"In our home a hail stone went through a window, then through a cane seated chair, hitting the floor with force enough to bound back and make a second hole through the cane seat. Many of the stones measured seven inches in circumference and our enterprising landlady gathered enough hail stones to freeze several gallons of ice cream and gave what she called a 'hail stone party.'"
Could the writer of that book visit Cheyenne in the year 1918, she would no longer consider the place a "forlorn, homesick looking town." Hundreds of ' thrifty shade trees would greet her eyes, the public parks and well kept lawns would disprove the statement that the soil is "barren," and the handsome homes, excellent sidewalks and modern system of waterworks would present a marked contrast to the conditions that existed in 1877.
THE POSTOFFICE
One of the first things the early settlers did was to apply to the United States Government for the establishment of a postoffice. In this they were supported by the Union Pacific officials. The petition was granted, Thomas E. McLeland was appointed postmaster, and the office was opened on August 10, 1867, in a frame building 10 by 15 feet on the southeast corner of Ferguson (Carey Ave- nue) and Seventeenth streets, where the Bankers and Steckmen's Trust Company
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY, CHEYENNE
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POSTOFFICE AND LARAMIE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, CHEYENNE
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is now located. The same day the office was opened for business, Mr. McLeland was elected city clerk. A complete list of the postmasters is not available, but among those who succeeded Mr. McLeland were: W. W. Corlett ; Herman Glafcke, formerly secretary of Wyoming Territory; Mrs. Susan R. Johnson, widow of Edward P. Johnson, who was territorial attorney for seven years; and John S. Jones, better known as "Timberline" Jones, on account of his excessive height and the fact that he was bald, his hair marking a "timber line" around his head. Postmasters in more recent years were A. C. Snyder, William Massey, George Draper and George W. Hoyt, the last named holding the position for over sixteen years. The present incumbent, Walter L. Larsh, received his appointment in February, 1914.
From the establishment of the office in August, 1867, to 1903, it was kept in various quarters rented by the Government. The present Federal Building, located on the north side of Eighteenth Street, between Carey and Pioneer ave- nues, was erected in 1903-04. Besides the postoffice, which occupies the main floor, the building contains the United States courtroom, land office, marshal's office, the headquarters of the railway mail service, etc. The cost of the building and site was about half a million dollars.
PUBLIC UTILITIES
As early as 1868 General Dodge made an examination and reported that a water supply for the city could be obtained by the construction of a reservoir on Crow Creek, but the people then were not financially able to undertake the project. The first contract for digging trenches and laying water mains was made in the fall of 1877. Since that time Cheyenne has expended approximately two million dollars in constructing the system of waterworks, with the result that no city in the West has a more bountiful supply of water of the purest and most wholesome quality.
In 1886, when the site of the state capitol building was selected, some of the citizens of Cheyenne organized a street railway company for the purpose of constructing a line from the Union Pacific Station to the capitol. J. C. Baird was secretary and general manager of the company. Three cars, each twelve feet long, with a seating capacity of sixteen passengers, were built in Cheyenne, and on January 10, 1888, the first car passed over the tracks. After that trips were made every half hour from Abney's livery stable to the capitol building. J. C. Abney was superintendent and furnished the horses to draw the cars.
This horse railway was the only one in Cheyenne for more than twenty years. On June 20, 1908, Thomas A. Cosgriff and his associates were granted a franchise for an electric railway. Work was commenced at once and the first car was run on August 20, 1908, during the Frontier Day celebration. Later the line was extended to Fort D. A. Russell.
Cheyenne has efficient gas and electric lighting plants, a modern sewer system and a central heating plant which supplies steam heat to many of the buildings in the business section of the city. Five public parks provide places of rest and recreation. One of these, Frontier Park, is the place where the Frontier Days celebrations are held annually. The public school system embraces six modern buildings.
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TWENTIETH CENTURY CHEYENNE
From the tent and shanty town of 1867, the City of Cheyenne has developed into a modern and progressive city of 12,000 inhabitants. Among its manufac- turing concerns are wagon and machine shops, a trunk factory, a large flour mill, creamery, ice manufacturing plant, harness and saddle factory, a large pressed brick plant, candy and cigar factories, planing mills, bottling works, bakeries, etc. Wholesale and retail stores carry all lines of merchandise, and the six banks on January 1, 1918, reported deposits of nearly fifteen million dollars.
The city has a $50,000 Carnegie Library, a city hall, a number of good hotels, two daily newspapers and several weekly and monthly publications, ten religious denominations have church organizations and most of them have fine houses of worship, the Masonic fraternity has a temple that cost $100,000, the Elks have a $50,000 clubhouse. the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Eagles all own their own buildings, and the paid fire department is equipped with motor apparatus.
Near the city is Fort D. A. Russell, the largest exclusive military post in the United States, and adjoining the fort are the Pole Mountain maneuver grounds of 100 square miles, capable of maneuvering 30,000 troops. The buildings and improvements at Fort Russell have cost the United States Government about seven million dollars.
Cheyenne is the headquarters of the Mountain States Telephone and Tele- graph Company, which occupies a $25,000 building on one of the principal busi- ness corners. The Industrial Club, numbering in its membership several hundred of the active business men of the city, owns a fine clubhouse on East Seventeenth Street and is active in its efforts to advertise Cheyenne's advantages as a com- mercial and social center. The Country Club has a neat clubhouse and golf links north of Frontier Park, and there are several social and literary organizations. Taken altogether, the business, educational, financial and social life of Cheyenne justifies the name of "Magic City of the Plains."
Vol. I-36
CHAPTER XXXIII
CITIES AND TOWNS
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 was 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 pop- ulation 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
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for a large section of the country, the merchants freighting their goods by wagon from Rawlins 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 & Quincy 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 1890, 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 organi- zations 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 com- pleted 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, modern 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, accord-
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ing 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 establish- ment, 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 estab- lished 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 Com- pany, 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 & Quincy 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 Tele- graph 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
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF CASPER
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
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 water- works. Christian, Catholic and Presbyterian churches, and in 1915 reported a population of 250.
BYRON
The incorporated town of Byron is situated in the northwestern part of Big- horn 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 of 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, sev- eral 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
CARNEGIE LIBRARY, CASPER
MASONIC TEMPLE, CASPER
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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 advan- tages. 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 trans- continental 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 1909. 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 I.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, sul- phur works that cost $60,000, a courthouse that cost $45,000, modern public school
BUR IE'S
MOKW
Copyright by Doubleday-Foster Photo Printing Co.
VIEW OF MAIN STREET, CASPER
CODY IN 1897
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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 water- works, two hospitals, and it is the principal supply point for a large and rich agricultural and mineral district.
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