Riding the Cow-Catcher
Laramie hosted many travelers crossing the country on the newly completed transcontinental railroad. Few had a more exciting ride than those in this account from …
“Powder River, Let ‘er Buck”: Term “Invented” by a Range Cowboy in Wyoming
By Phil Roberts Former UW football coach Joe Glenn (2003-08) often repeated the familiar mantra “Powder River, Let ‘er Buck,” as an expression …
Pershing’s Wyoming Connection
By Phil Roberts It was a cold, miserable day in January 1905, in Washington, D.C. , and a rising young army officer was marrying the …
Overcoming “Superstitious Dread”: Public Schools in Territorial Wyoming
By Phil Roberts Public school education dates to the earliest days of Wyoming Territory, even before the first territorial legislature authorized public funding for schools. …
Wyoming’s “Other” Governor Ross: The Story of William Ross, Husband of Nellie
By Phil Roberts Although few residents realize it, November 29 is a state holiday in Wyoming. Known as Nellie Tayloe Ross Day,” the …
No Turkeys at the Post: Thanksgiving in Pioneer Wyoming
By Phil Roberts The Thanksgivings of the 19th century in Wyoming weren’t always celebrated with turkey and the trimmings. While Cheyenne printers were …
“Mrs. Barriers” and the Crusade to Make Wyoming Public Buildings Accessible
By Phil Roberts The Americans with Disabilities Act was far in the future when a group of Lusk residents first met to …
Mary Bellamy Was First Woman Elected to Wyoming State Legislature
Mary Godat Bellamy (b. 1861, d. 1954) was the first woman elected to the Wyoming State Legislature. A resident of Laramie, she was one of …
Lupton’s Luckless Location: The History of Fort Platte
Lancaster P. Lupton established a post a mile from Fort Laramie in 1841 in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the lucrative fur trade in the …
Lovejoy’s Toy: Wyoming’s First Car
By Phil Roberts, Department of History, University of Wyoming The automobile age arrived in Wyoming almost unnoticed. While the Spanish American War dominated …
Numbers on Bumpers: Wyoming’s First License Plates
By Phil Roberts Every year questions are asked about the bucking horse insignia on Wyoming’s license plates. Claims from several sources seem to confuse the …
Hooray for Laramie?: Wyoming’s Brush with Hollywood Fame
By Phil Roberts In the 1950s, a celebrated veteran in the entertainment business wrote about his memories of Wyoming in his autobiography. He …
Gannett Peak: The Map-maker’s Mountain and Wyoming’s Highest Point
By Phil Roberts John C. Fremont on his expedition west in 1842 climbed, along with his African American servant Janise, what Fremont called “the …
From a Bank in the Big Horn Basin: The Beginnings of Worland
By Phil Roberts The town was established because of agriculture. It was named, not for the farmer, investor, engineer or railroad official but for …
First Woman to Vote in America Lived in Laramie
Louisa Swain was the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States. She voted on Sept. 6, 1870, in Laramie. Born …
The First Woman Juror in America: Laramie’s Eliza Stewart
The First Woman Juror in America: Laramie’s Eliza Stewart By Phil Roberts Laramie women made history in March of 1870 when five of …
First Commercial Computer in Wyoming Operated in the Casper Office of Pan American Petroleum, 1960
First Commercial Computer in Wyoming Operated in the Casper Office of Pan American Petroleum, 1960 Shown below is sample computer card that was used to …
“Except for the Immediate Grasshopper”: Owen Wister’s Medicine Bow
By Phil Roberts, published April 3, 1980 “It is a fearful place. A town consisting of a station and a dozen wooden horrors of various …
Edison, the Light Bulb and the Eclipse
By Phil Roberts Thomas Edison was 31 years old and already a famous inventor when he visited Wyoming in 1878. He had patented the phonograph …
Duncan Hines’ Best Meal
By Phil Roberts (1986) *A version of this article first appeared as “Duncan Hines’ Best Meal,” True West, March 1987, pp. 36-40. Printed online for first …
Dom Pedro Crossed Wyoming: The Brief Wyoming Visit by a Reigning Emperor, 1876
By Phil Roberts In these times of another forthcoming British royal wedding, writers have remarked on the unusual interest these events seem to hold for …
Diamonds in the Rough: The Great Hoax in Wyoming Territory
By Phil Roberts One day in 1871 two miners, Philip Arnold and John Slack, walked into a bank in San Francisco and asked that their …
The Builder of the “World’s Oldest Cabin”
The Builder of the “World’s Oldest Cabin” By Phil Roberts It is billed as “the world’s oldest cabin.” The structure, made of fossilized …
Coffee, Cowboys And A Ranch: The Arbuckle Brothers’ Wyoming Connection
By Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming Department of History Arbuckle coffee was the mainstay for every cowboy on the range in the late …
Coffee, Cowboys And A Ranch: The Arbuckle Brothers’ Wyoming Connection
By Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming Department of History Arbuckle coffee was the mainstay for every cowboy on the range in the late …
Wyoming Once Had Cigar Factories
Even before Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, Thomas Marshall, made his famous remark about the need for good five-cent cigars in the smoke shop of …
Christmas Celebrations In Pioneer Wyoming
Christmas was celebrated in the early days in Wyoming, in the 19th century, much like it is today with family dinners, parties, church services and …
The “Cheyenne 200”: The 1909 Auto Race Rival To Indianapolis
By Phil Roberts During the same week in August 1909, two cities held what each billed as their first annual automobile race. One race–moved to …
Canyon Springs Stage Robbery
The strong box was reinforced steel and, according to its builders it could withstand any attempt to break it open for at least 24 hours. …
Agnes Thatcher Lake: Equestrian Rider, Circus Performer, And Wild Bill’s Wife
By Phil Roberts Agnes Thatcher Lake was world renowned in the second half of the 19th century as a tightrope walker, lion tamer and equestrian. Western …
Broadway’s ‘Mr. Abbott’ Delivered Beer in Wyoming
Broadway’s ‘Mr. Abbott’ Delivered Beer in Wyoming By Phil Roberts When Broadway’s “Mr. Abbott” died in February, 1995, at the age of 107, few …
A Tramp, A Fossil Dealer and the Vampires: The 1880 Wyoming Census
A Tramp, A Fossil Dealer and the Vampires: The 1880 Wyoming Census By Phil Roberts In the 19th century, Wyoming was not the …