Chapter 1: Earliest Treaties
Three Important 19th Century Treaties Several important treaties were made between the Federal Government and native tribes then occupying Wyoming. Two of the most significant …
Chapter 2: Fur Trade and Rendezvous
Chapter 2: Fur Trade and the Rendezvous System The brief 16-year period of the fur trade rendezvous in Wyoming illustrates enduring truths in the economic …
Chapter 3: Trail to Somewhere Else
Chapter 3: Wyoming as a Trail to Somewhere Else Various travelers came west with rendezvous trading parties and continued on their own. These included the …
Chapter 4: Primary Documents for Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Primary Documents for Chapter 3 Document 1: Extracts from Capt. Howard Stansbury, report to Col. John James Abert, Chief, Corps of Topographical Engineers, …
Chapter 5: Coming of Rails
Chapter 5: Coming of Rails Section 1: Choosing a Route and Financing Construction Horses, oxen and other draft animals had been the transportation mainstays for eons. …
Chapter 6: Building the Rails
Chapter 6: Building the Rails Section 1: Choosing a Route and Financing Construction Horses, oxen and other draft animals had been the transportation mainstays for eons. …
Chapter 7: Women’s Rights
Chapter 7: Establishing the Territory and Granting Women Equal Rights “For the first time in the history of our country, the organization of a territorial …
Chapter 8: Public Lands
Chapter 8: Public Lands From the nation’s beginning, many Americans believed the country’s future was in agriculture. Public officials articulated a continuing policy that …
Chapter 9: Water and Irrigation
Chapter 9: Water and Irrigation By Phil Roberts In the interest of furthering Thomas Jefferson’s agrarian ideal, Congress passed the original Homestead Act in …
Chapter 10: Wyoming Oil
Chapter 10: Wyoming Oil By Phil Roberts New History of Wyoming Chapter 9 This essay was written as part of the readings/lectures for a course …
Chapter 11: Constitutional Convention and Statehood
Chapter 11: Constitutional Convention and Statehood Essays: “Wyoming Becomes a State: The Constitutional Convention and Statehood Debates of 1889 and 1890 — and Their Aftermath” …
Chapter 12: Contest for the Capital:
Chapter 12: Contest for the Capital: The Capital Location Election of 1904 By Phil Roberts Wyomingites organized for statehood in the late 19th century, along …
Chapter 13: Women’s Suffrage
Chapter 13: Creation of Wyoming Territory: Impeachment and Women’s Suffrage by Phil Roberts – 2019 Impeachment played an important, but subtle role in the creation …
Chapter 14: Creating Counties in 1911
Chapter 14: Creating Counties in 1911 Why Two of Wyoming’s “Grand Old Men” Have No Counties Named for Them By Phil Roberts The 1911 …
Chapter 15: Wyoming in the 1920s
Chapter 15: Wyoming in the 1920s Most Americans enjoyed prosperity during the decade of the 1920s. In fact, the …
Chapter 16: 2nd Constitutional Convention
Chapter 16 Wyoming’s Second Constitutional Convention and the Repeal of Prohibition By Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming A version of this article appeared as: ”Wyoming’s Second …
Chapter 17: Great Depression and New Deal in Wyoming
Chapter 17 The 1930s Great Depression and the New Deal in Wyoming This essay focuses on several of the “organizing concepts”—state/federal relations (“Washington”), “boom-and-bust” (“Wall …
Chapter 18: Wyoming Adopts the Sales Tax
Chapter 18 Wyoming Adopts the Sales Tax: The 1930s Origins of the Current Tax System By Phil Roberts, Department of History, University of Wyoming …
Chapter 19: Regulating Liquor
Chapter 19 Regulating Liquor: Prohibition Enforcement, Official Corruption, and State Efforts to Control Alcohol After Prohibition Repeal By Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming The …
Chapter 20: World War II in Wyoming
Chapter 20: World War II in Wyoming (Under revision) The “Temporary Emergency Sales Tax Act” and its Successors After the Griffenhagen plan was roundly rejected, …
Chapter 21: The 1950s
Chapter 21: The 1950s by Phil Roberts “Everything in Wyoming is political,” goes the oft-quoted saying, “except politics. Politics is personal.” The remark …
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WYOMING (containing amendments through Dec. 31, 2012) This is an unofficial copy to be used for History of Wyoming and …
list of Wyoming’s War Dead
In World War I, Wyomingites who died in action numbered 468 of the 12,000 who served. During World War II, 1,095 Wyomingites died in combat …
Raining Rattlers
Raining Rattlers By Phil Roberts Experts say that of the 115 various species of snakes in the United States, just 19 of them are venomous. …
Pizzas for the Egyptian Army
Sometimes, you just have to take the initiative and buy pizzas for the Egyptian army: A Memoir of Alexandria (March 2001) By Phil Roberts Sometimes, …
Wyoming Name Changes
Wyoming Almanac contains numerous entries in which names of people and places are listed. Here are several entries for name changes and nicknames of a …
WYOMING HOLIDAYS
WYOMING HOLIDAYS Schools and State Offices Closed New Year’s Day *Martin Luther King, Jr., Wyoming Equality Day: third Monday in January (set by legislative act …
1935: Momentous Year
1935: A Momentous Year in Wyoming History by Phil Roberts Posted 15 February 2015 (The following is an abstract of remarks made to the Laramie …
Fiction: Gunkels Moth by Phil Roberts
GUNKEL’S MOTH A Short Story by Phil Roberts Copyright 1988 Dr. Amadeus Gunkel, the distinguished retired botany professor and world-famous moth collector, just completed …
Dates in Wyoming History
Stories of events happening on various dates are added from time to time. Eventually, a complete 365-day section will be in place. January 6 On …
Frank Leslie’s Account of Cheyenne Visit, 1877
Frank Leslie’s Account of Cheyenne Visit, 1877 “We reached Cheyenne on April 21sst. This city of the Plains has a reputation for vice and crime …
Wyoming’s First Auto Fatality: Rawlins, 1906
Wyoming’s First Auto Fatality Happened in Rawlins, 1906 The first automobile fatality recorded in Wyoming was a pedestrian hit by a car. …
Gasoline and Moonshine
Gasoline and Moonshine “Gasoline and moonshine very much resemble each other. Both liquids are colorless and each has a pungent odor. “Gasoline, when taken internally …
Some Interesting Wyoming Ads
Advertising Some Interesting Wyoming Ads 1. “Individual Towels” Sign, posted in 1868, promoting one of the best features of a hotel in Benton, now a ghost …
Nomadic Culture and Oil
The Transformation of a Nomadic Culture: The Oil Industry in the Gulf States By Phil Roberts, Department of History, University of Wyoming While the title …
“Egypt’s Vietnam”: Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Intervention in Yemen, 1962-1968
Over the past quarter century, I have spent considerable time in the Middle East, as a visitor and as a researcher. I have no formal …
Cairo Letter, Dec. 13, 2011
Cairo Letter, Dec. 13, 2011 “…We said our goodbyes at the [AUC] Comm Department, library and elsewhere and off the three of us [me, Peggy, and Peggy’s …
UW’s Land Grant
Choosing Sections for UW’s Land Grant: Surveyor F. O. Sawin’s Project, 1886 In February 1882, Congress passed a law to grant federal government “lands to …
Textbook Controversy at UW
Textbook Controversy at the University of Wyoming, 1947-48: A Brief Summary (This article is based on a talk given by Phil Roberts for “Constitution Day” …
Origins of “W” on Laramie’s “W Hill”
The Origins of the “W” on Laramie’s “W Hill” “Go out in the back steps of the University or any other convenient place about town …
Grand Old Men Have No Counties Named for Them
Why Two of Wyoming’s “Grand Old Men” Have No Counties Named for Them By Phil Roberts The 1911 Wyoming legislature created a flurry of counties—the …
G. Edward Pendray, Rocket Pioneer
Visions Beyond an Arrow of Fire: G. Edward Pendray, Rocket Pioneer from Wyoming By David L. Roberts G. Edward Pendray came from a part of …
Virginian Meets Matt Shepard
The Virginian Meets Matt Shepard By D. Claudia Thompson In 1951, in preparation for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of The …
Walking Tour of UW
University of Wyoming: A History Walking Tour of the West Campus (structures located west of 15th Street) (Sites of demolished buildings are indicated in Italics) …
Reflecting Community: Case Studies of Three Wyoming Museums
Case Studies of Three Wyoming Museums and the Impact of Each on the Community By Patty Kessler 2004 Since the 1960s, regional and local museums …
Introduction to Readings in Wyoming
Introduction to the 5th edition online, first available in 2010. (The 4th edition was published in book form in 2004). This is the fifth …
Project Wagon Wheel
Project Wagon Wheel: A Nuclear Plowshare for Wyoming By Adam Lederer Project Plowshare was the name given by the Atomic Energy Commission to a project …