Our offerings this month delve into the political structure set for Wyoming Territory by its first governor, investigate how oil seeps aided emigrant travel on the trails and tell the tale of the people behind the state’s first mineral severance tax and permanent mineral trust fund, stabilizing state finance in important ways.

In addition, we’re pleased to highlight High Plains Press author Jefferson Glass, who won a Western Writers of America Spur Award for his book about John Baptiste Richard, builder of Reshaw’s Bridge. 

Governor Campbell takes the wheel

John Campbell took office as the first governor of Wyoming Territory in 1869. A Republican appointed by President U.S. Grant, Campbell found the job plagued by partisan conflict with Democrats, an overbearing Union Pacific Railroad and by factionalism within his own party—but he left sturdy political structures behind him. Read more in WyoHistory.org Editor Tom Rea’s essay “John Campbell and the Invention of Wyoming” at http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/john-campbell-and-invention-wyoming.

Emigrants grease their axles with Wyoming oil

Mixed-race families in early Wyoming appear to have sold oil skimmed from seeps to travelers on the emigrant trails, who used the oil to lubricate their wagon axles. It was a small start for what has become the huge petroleum business, so important to Wyoming today. Learn more in Allan Fraser’s article “Oil Seeps and Axle Grease: Petroleum Sales on the Emigrant Trails” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/oil-seeps-and-axle-grease-petrole....

Personalities play into severance taxes, permanent funds 

Wyoming’s mineral taxes make a story of personalities. Democrat Ernest Wilkerson reintroduced minerals severance taxes to Wyoming politics when he ran for governor in 1966. Republican Stan Hathaway defeated Wilkerson, but eventually presided over enactment of a severance tax and a permanent minerals fund, vastly stabilizing Wyoming’s financial future. See Sarah Gorin’s political history of the tax at “Taxing Wyoming Minerals: Severance Taxes and Permanent Funds” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-minerals-severance-taxes-....

Jefferson Glass wins WWA Spur Award

Author Jefferson Glass recently won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America in the Best First Nonfiction Book category for his book Reshaw: The Life and Times of John Baptiste Richard published in 2014 by High Plains Press in Glendo, Wyo.  See Glass’ WyoHistory.org article on the emigrant trails-era Reshaw’s Bridge, which crossed the North Platte River at present Evansville, just east of Casper, Wyo., at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/reshaws-bridge. For info about the Spur Awards and much more, visit the Western Writers of America website at http://westernwriters.org/.