Wyoming Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Wyoming trivia? Try our list Wyoming little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—The Cheyenne Depot in Cheyenne (pop. 53,011) is one of the last grand 19th-century depots remaining on the transcontinental railroad. Formerly known as the Union Pacific Railroad Depot, it now houses the Cheyenne Depot Museum, which chronicles how rails shaped the West. The 1886-87 Richardsonian Romanesque building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006, after several restorations.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Casper (pop. 49,644) was named for Lt. Caspar Collins, who was stationed in Platte Bridge Station. In 1865, Collins was killed while defending a wagon train against Indian warriors. The outpost was renamed Fort Caspar, but when the city grew around it, its name was misspelled with an "e." Today, the restored fort retains the original spelling.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—Established in 1882, The Bozeman Trail Inn in Big Horn (pop. 198) is the oldest operating bar in the state. The tin-topped, wooden-slatted inn serves meat and potatoes and more. Established in 1884, Hartville (pop. 76) is the oldest incorporated town that is still in existence in the state. The town was first settled in the 1870s by miners looking for gold, silver, copper, onyx and iron.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—S.H. Hardin, a local rancher, named Ranchester (pop. 701) in 1894 by combining "ranch" with "chester," a common ending for town names in his native England. In 1907, nearby Fort Custer was renamed Hardin in his honor. Lander (pop. 6,867) has been called "The City of Bronze," primarily because of the Eagle Bronze Foundry located in the town's industrial park. The foundry, one of the largest in the country, was established in 1986 and cast Dallas' cattle drive bronze monument, and the 36-foot-tall sculpture of colonizer Don Juan de Onate rearing back on his horse, for the El Paso (Texas) International Airport.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–In addition to varieties of trout, the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery, near Saratoga (pop. 1,726), breeds the endangered Wyoming toad for release into the wild.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Ten Sleep (pop. 304) may be a remote location, but it is home to Eleutian Technology, a company that teaches English to Koreans half a world away. The two-year-old company has about 300 teachers hooked up to Skype, the free online calling and person-to-person video service, to teach English to more than 15,000 students in South Korea.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—The Mormon Handcart Visitors' Center near Alcova (pop. 20) commemorates the trek across the prairies by Mormon pioneers. In 1856, while traveling from Iowa City, Iowa, to Salt Lake City, Utah, the Martin and Willie handcart companies of about 1,000 people were caught in a blizzard, and more than 100 died from exposure and starvation. At the center, visitors can view exhibits about the tragedy and pull handcarts to what is now known as Martin's Cove, where the pioneers sought shelter from the cold.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

––A few years ago, Willis Larson steered away from the traditional ranch life to raise yaks, bovines that come from the Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal. Larson and his wife, Robbie, have raised as many as 80 yaks for their low-fat meat, on a 500-acre ranch near Cheyenne (pop. 53,011).

The official state grass, adopted in 2007, is Western wheatgrass, a tough native prairie grass that is valuable for livestock feed and erosion control.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—The state’s oldest steam engine, No. 1242, called Ol’ Sadie, is displayed at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens in Lions Park in Cheyenne (pop. 53,011). Built in 1890, the steam engine ran the Walcott-Saratoga-Encampment line from 1921 until 1954, when the Union Pacific railroad donated it to the city.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—A wooden sculpture of an American Indian carved in 1980 by artist Peter Toth stands at 10th Street and Big Horn Avenue in Worland (pop. 5,250). Titled Indian Brave No. 36, the sculpture is part of the artist’s “Trail of the Whispering Giants” series on display in the United States and Canada.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

When workers were excavating for a street project last year in Rawlins (pop. 8,538), they unearthed pieces of the town’s history, specifically sections of a waterline made of slats of wood held together with metal bands. The waterline is said to date from 1910 to 1918.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—A lone pine tree growing out of a boulder has been a landmark in the Buford area since the Union Pacific railroad passed near the tree 140 years ago. According to legend, locomotive operators stopped to water the tree as they passed. Today, drivers on Interstate 80 can see the tree in a small parking area located in the median.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

Works of art grace the sidewalks of Gillette (pop. 19,646) for both residents and visitors to enjoy. The exhibit is part of the town’s Avenues of Art Program, which invites artists from around the country to submit outdoor sculptures for display for one year.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—One of the guest cabins at the UXU Ranch near Wapiti is a former stage stop that once served visitors en route to Yellowstone National Park. The log cabin was dismantled and moved to the ranch, which is 17 miles from the park. The town of Kaycee (pop. 249) got its name from “KC,” the cattle brand used by the area’s first homesteader, John Nolan, in the 1800s.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—The town of Bar Nunn (pop. 936) was built on the runway of the former Casper (pop. 49,644) airport. After settling in 1894 near Jackson (pop. 8,647), William Menor built a ferry with a cable system for crossing the Snake River. The cable kept the ferry from floating downstream, while allowing it to move sideways. Menor charged 50 cents for a wagon and team to cross, and 25 cents for an individual and horse. When the area became popular with tourists in the 1920s, ferry owner Maude Noble increased the price to $1 for automobiles with local license plates and $2 for out-of-state plates. A replica of Menor’s ferry operates today.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—Located on the Continental Divide in the West Thumb area, Isa Lake is noteworthy for draining—backward—into both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The drain on the east side ends up running west to the Pacific, while the west drain flows east toward the Atlantic.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

––The Laramie County Library System in Cheyenne (pop. 53,011) was named 2008 Library of the Year. The library’s cutting-edge technology, dedicated staff, new main building and the fact that 80 percent of the residents the library serves have library cards were cited in Library Journal magazine.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—The Charles J. Belden Museum of Western Photography in Meeteetse (pop. 351) exhibits the work of Charles J. Belden, who in the 1920s and 1930s documented the lives of cowboys, particularly on the Pitchfork Ranch near Meeteetse. The building also houses the Meeteetse Museum, which has a wildlife display and artifacts from the Pitchfork Ranch.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Old Trail Town in Cody (pop. 8,835) features a collection of 26 frontier structures, including a saloon, a livery stable and cabins, dating from 1879 to 1901. The town is the brainchild of Bob Edgar, whose mission is rescuing historic Wyoming buildings, moving them to the town and filling them with artifacts gathered throughout the state.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Grand Teton National Park’s first ranger-naturalist was Fritiof Fryxell, a geologist, teacher and mountaineer who served as park naturalist from 1929, when the park was established, until 1934. His book, The Tetons: Interpretations of a Mountain Landscape, is considered a classic on the Tetons’ geology.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

jump to page: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20

newspaper partner login create account

Recent

Popular

Recipes

Below are the most recent American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile recipes:

Relish

Spry

Below are the most recent articles from our Relish sister site. Click on the "Spry" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.

Below are the most recent articles from our Spry sister site. Click on the "Relish" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.