Blog | WyoHistory.org

Book cover with images of a buffalo skull nestled in some native plants with mountains in the horizon; the title text reads, "Tribal Government, Wind River Reservation, by Janet Flynn with contributions by A.W. Baldwin

From Casino Nights to Treaty Rights: Inside Tribal Government: Wind River Reservation

In the 1990s, Wyoming charities ran roulette nights while the state told the Northern Arapaho Tribe it could not offer the same games. That fight is one of the stories in Tribal Government: Wind River Reservation, a newly updated guide to Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho government that WyoHistory.org helped bring back into print.

cartoon of two smiling bananas, on without skin, the other pointing to an hanger with a banana peel draped over it. Text at top reads, "What is a banana peel?" and "Fruit Suit" below.

Banana Peel, Death’s Agent

“BANANA PEEL DEATH’S AGENT,” read a 1905 Cheyenne Daily Leader headline. For Halloween, a look at how a tropical fruit became a Wyoming hazard, and how towns tried to keep their sidewalks peel-free.

newspaper clipper headlined, "SHOT WAS THOMAS P. TWAY. Two Shot Revceived in the Right Leg, And Rode 65 Miles To Have HIs Wounds Dressed."

“To the Utmost of Her Power:” Consent, Force, and an 1897 Wyoming Court Case

In 1896, a Fremont County jury convicted Thomas Tway of sexually assaulting Julia Stevens. A year later, the Wyoming Supreme Court threw out the verdict, ruling that she hadn’t resisted “to the utmost of her power.” The court’s assumptions about how a victim should behave still echo today.

roadside sign hung from a wood crossbar that says, "Wyoming;" text on sign is titled "Sheep Mountain" and describes the geology of the areay

Roadside History, Now on Your Screen: Wyoming’s Monuments and Markers Map

Pull over, read the sign, learn what happened here. Wyoming’s Monuments and Markers Program has refreshed its interactive map so travelers, teachers, and history lovers can find the state’s historical markers before they ever leave home.

Remembrance of a Special Friend: Jeremy Johnston

Jeremy Johnston was an extraordinary historian, dedicated to his community, family, and friends. Lynn Houze shares her memories of her "go-to Wyoming history mentor" and special friend.

Celebrating Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival in Our Seventh Year

Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival returns to Lander for its seventh year, October 9–11, 2026, bringing together more than thirty Wyoming authors for readings, a youth fiction awards ceremony, and a keynote panel on adapting the play Chomolungma for film.

Oil painting detail Indigenous people, some on horseback, scattered around a plain near a teepee

A New Book Tells Wyoming's Story Through 76 Objects and Places

"Wyoming’s History in 76 Objects and Places," a new 182-page volume with essays from more than 50 Wyoming historians, uses everyday and iconic objects to explore the state’s past, timed to the Wyoming 250 celebrations of America’s semiquincentennial.

Looking for "Mormon Charlie"

Mormon Charlie is usually a footnote in Evanston’s story about China Mary. His own story, three spellings of his name and two different wives across two death certificates, suggests he deserves a chapter of his own.

Caucasian man with big moustache, in cowboy hat, suit and tie, stands next to Arapaho man in traditional headband, chest plate and breeches, with a blanket over one arm

The Yarn Behind Let ’Er Buck

Where did “Powder River, Let ‘er Buck” really come from? A look at Edward J. Farlow’s 1939 account of a 1893 cattle drive, a nearly dry riverbed, and a cowhand’s boastful saloon tale in Casper.

detail of revolver showing closeup of battlefield etching on silver grip

Not Just Jewelry: Tiffany & Co. and the Art of the American Gun

Tiffany & Co. is famous for jewelry, not firearms—but a revolver that passed through their workshop in 1894 tells a different story. Danny Michael traces its silver grips, a Civil War battle scene, and a Rough Rider owner to their new home at the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.