Wyoming Trivia & Tidbits
Looking for Wyoming trivia? Try our list Wyoming little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
—War bonnets, Winchester rifles and frontier-era spurs, chaps and branding irons are among hundreds of Western items at the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in Buffalo (pop. 3,900). The museum, opened in 1956, depicts Wyoming history, especially American Indian cultures and frontier settlers.
first appeared: 5/18/2008
––Beulah bills itself as a biker-friendly town, and to prove it, erected a granite memorial in 1995 dedicated “to the memory of those who ride beyond the sunset.” Beulah is about 35 miles west of Sturgis, S.D., a mecca for motorcyclists.
first appeared: 5/4/2008
––Darrell K. Sweet’s illustrations grace the covers of fantasy and science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony, Robert Heinlein and J.R.R. Tolkien. Sweet lives in Cody (pop. 8,835).
first appeared: 3/9/2008
—The state’s first female physician was Lillian Heath, who set up her practice in Rawlins (pop. 8,538) in 1893. Heath, an obstetrician, dressed like a boy and carried a .32-caliber revolver for protection when she made night calls in the frontier town.
first appeared: 2/24/2008
Legend has it that the first yellow pages phone directory was produced in 1883 when a printer in Cheyenne (pop. 53,011) ran out of white paper and substituted yellow sheets.
first appeared: 2/24/2008
—The Pedro Mountain Mummy was discovered by gold prospectors in 1932 when they were dynamiting in the Pedro Mountains, about 60 miles southwest of Casper (pop. 49,644). The mummy, in a sitting position and only 14 to 17 inches tall if upright, was featured in sideshows and analyzed by scientists. Speculation still exists as to whether it was an infant suffering an aging disease, a scientific curiosity, or proof of the legend passed down by American Indians of a race of “little people.”
first appeared: 2/10/2008
––New York City’s famous Moondance Diner completed its 2,100-mile journey to La Barge (pop. 431) in August. The Moondance had been a Manhattan landmark for more than 70 years and has been the scene for television commercials, sitcoms and movies, including Friends, Sex and the City and Spider-Man. La Barge residents Vince and Cheryl Pierce bought the road-car diner and plan to reopen it as a restaurant in town.
first appeared: 1/27/2008
—When finished in 1910, Shoshone Dam, later renamed the Buffalo Bill Dam, was the highest dam in the world at 325 feet and one of the first high concrete dams in the United States. Located on the Shoshone River west of Cody (pop. 8,835), the dam was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is a National Civil Engineering Landmark.
first appeared: 1/13/2008
—Your dance steps are a little springier at the Woods Landing Dance Hall in Woods Landing (pop. 100). The wooden dance floor was built in 1932 on top of 24 boxcar springs. The hand-grooved log building, with a bar, restaurant and community gathering place, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
first appeared: 12/30/2007
—Visitors to Grand Teton National Park have 1,106 more acres to admire after the 96,000-acre park formally received the last parcel of the famed JY Ranch, long owned by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. family, last summer. Laurence S. Rockefeller previously deeded ranch acreage on Phelps Lake near Jackson (pop. 8,647) in 2001. The latest donated parcel features a new trail system and a 6,500-square-foot visitors center.
first appeared: 12/2/2007
—The first Wyoming patent was issued in 1867 to Lt. Col. Anson Mills for a woven cartridge belt. Mills was stationed in Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, now located in Uinta County (pop. 19,742).
first appeared: 11/18/2007
The Flying V Cambria Inn near Newcastle (pop. 3,065) began as a Cambria Coal Co. retreat. Construction of the building began in 1923 and took five years to complete because sandstone had to be quarried and hand-cut. Over the years, the inn has provided housing for a cattle ranch, a Bible camp and a dude ranch. It now is a bed-and-breakfast inn.
first appeared: 11/18/2007
––A freak rainstorm on Aug. 1, 1985, dumped more than 6 inches of rain in a 24-hour period on the Cheyenne (pop. 53,011) area, causing severe flooding, 12 deaths and damages exceeding $61 million.
first appeared: 11/4/2007
—Issued this year in the 50 State Quarters Program, the Wyoming coin features an image of a bucking horse and rider to symbolize the state’s wild West heritage, and the nickname “The Equality State,” which refers to the state’s role in establishing rights for women by allowing them to vote, serve on juries and hold public office.
first appeared: 10/21/2007
In 1913, Jacob Schwoob of Cody (pop. 8,835) was granted the state’s first license plate in honor of his work promoting highway development and funding. His plate number was “1.”
first appeared: 10/21/2007
––Fort Laramie National Historic Site near Fort Laramie (pop. 243) was started as a trading post in 1834 and became the first garrisoned post in Wyoming in 1849. Located near the confluence of the North Platte and Laramie rivers, the fort was an important outpost for the major trails to the Pacific until its closing in 1890. Today, restored buildings are open for tours of the site.
first appeared: 10/7/2007
—At the Dancing Bear Folk Center in Thermopolis (pop. 3,172), visitors can try their hand at frontier crafts, including wool spinning and weaving, and view a collection of teddy bears made by bear artists and manufacturers.
first appeared: 9/30/2007
—Suffragette Esther Morris was appointed justice of the peace for South Pass City in 1870, making her the first woman to hold a judicial office in the modern world. She worked for women’s suffrage in Wyoming, which granted women the right to vote in 1869. Statues of her are displayed in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol and in front of the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne (pop. 53,011).
first appeared: 9/9/2007
—Thought to grow only in Nebraska, the blowout penstemon plant was discovered in 1996 in Carbon County (pop. 15,639) and became Wyoming’s first endangered species plant. The blue or lavender aromatic perennial grows in sand dunes when wind erosion opens up areas of bare sand called “blowouts.”
Residents of Cheyenne (pop. 53,011) can take a deep breath. Cheyenne tops the list of cities with the cleanest air, according to the American Lung Association’s 2007 “State of the Air” report.
first appeared: 8/26/2007
—Custer’s Last Stand, buffalo driven over a cliff, mountain men throwing tomahawks during a rendezvous, and Sioux warriors attacking a trading post are some of the historical and frontier scenes depicted in the Old West Miniature Village & Museum in Cody (pop. 8,835). The diorama, containing thousands of miniature figures, spreads over 7,000 square feet to trace the history of Wyoming and Montana from the 1600s to the late 1890s. The small-scale, three-dimensional scenes are the life work of owner Jerry Fick.
first appeared: 8/12/2007
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