USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume I > Part 62
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"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 Hams- fork, 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 11s 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
BLYTH-FARGO-HOSKINS CO
MARSHALL DAY, KEMMERER
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF KEMMERER
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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. Quealy, two weekly newspapers, several lodges of fraternal societies, Catho- lic, Episcopal, Methodist and Latter-Day Saints churches, five hotels, and mer- cantile 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, 1868) 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 pres- tige 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 IQII 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 pres- sure 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 voca- tional 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
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First Baptist Church.
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, the first church built in Laramie.
The square shaped white building in the center of the picture was the first schoolhouse, on Third Street, where Root's Opera House now stands. LARAMIE IN 1870
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
system. From this brief summary it may be seen that Lander is better pro- vided with public buildings and public utilities than a majority of the cities of its size. The Congregationalists, Episcopalians and Methodists have comfort- able 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 Com- mercial 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 moun- tains, 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 char- acter 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 con- tinued 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 at- torney 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,
IVINSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, LARAMIE
Erected by Edward Ivinson in 1916 as a memorial to his wife, Jane Ivinson.
H N.N
CARNEGIE LIBRARY, LARAMIE
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
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 Pa- cific Company established rolling mills and machine shops here at a compara- tively 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 laun- dries, 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 news- papers, Baptist, Catholic, Christian Science, Episcopal, Methodist and Presby- terian 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 cen- sus 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 Bighorn County, is the incorporated town of Lovell. It is a station on the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad, occupying a beautiful site on the banks of the Sho- shone 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 1I, 1908, Lovell was almost "wiped off the map" by a tornado, but it has been rebuilt more substantially than before and in 1915 re- ported 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
MASONIC TEMPLE, LARAMIE
ELKS' HOME, LARAMIE
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
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 sys- tem, a telephone exchange of the Lusk-Manville Telephone Company, a new school building that is the pride of the town, several general stores, drug, hard- ware and clothing houses, hotels and restaurants, and a number of pretty homes. The Civic Improvement Club, an organization of women, have started a move- ment 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 popu- lation 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 postoffice, a weekly newspaper called the Bridger Valley Enterprise, a pub- lic 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 & Quincy 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 Nio- brara River, in the southern part of Niobrara County, is the thriving little town
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RESIDENCE OF EDWARD IVINSON, LARAMIE
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
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." Begin- ning as a small shipping station for the stock raisers in the valley, it has devel- oped into a town of considerable importance to the surrounding country. It has a bank, general stores, a postoffice, 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 freaks 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 & Quincy 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
Photo Copyrighted by H. Svenson Studio
HOLLIDAY BUILDING, LARAMIE
Copyright by Luckhaus
DAILY PARADE AT FORT RUSSELL
Vol. 1-38
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
farming district adjoining the town. Three star mail routes emanate from Moor- croft. 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 Rail- way 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 main- tained 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 ad- jacent mining camps. The supply is furnished by mountain springs thirteen miles from the town. The town also has an electric light plant which supplies New- castle 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 Bluffs 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 merchan- dise, 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
CITY LIBRARY, NEWCASTLE
COMPANY A ARMORY BUILDING, NEWCASTLE
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
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 Presbyterian 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 commer- cial 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 elec- tion 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, be- came 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 de- posits near the city furnish the fuel and raw material for these shops, and an- other 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 "Raw- lins 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 ship- ment.
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