Every July, people from throughout the world visit Wyoming to participate in Cheyenne Frontier Days™ and the impressive rodeo known as the Daddy of ’em All. Tourists and locals alike enjoy the pancake breakfasts, parades, concerts and other events that round out the festivities celebrating the state’s cowboy heritage.

But July marks the anniversary of another significant event in Wyoming. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming became a state, the 44th to enter the union. The steps to statehood spurred controversy. Wyoming Territory, organized in 1869, became known for its granting of woman suffrage. Not everyone believed that a state should do so, however. Eventually, though, Wyoming was admitted to the union with its equality edicts intact. Today, a replica statue of Esther Hobart Morris, the first woman justice of the peace, stands at the steps of the Wyoming Capitol, commemorating the state’s historic commitment to the principles of equality. The original statue is displayed in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.

One hundred twenty-three years later, we’re known by two nicknames: The Cowboy State and The Equality State. The month of July is a great time to pay homage to both.

To learn more about Wyoming statehood, see University of Wyoming History Professor Phil Roberts’s essay, “Wyoming Becomes a State.”

A tour of the chambers and hallways of the Wyoming Capitol, where delegates worked out Wyoming’s constitution in 1889 is well worth the trip. Take a virtual tour here: http://ai.state.wy.us/capitoltour/Virtual%20Tour/index.htm. Better yet, explore the hallways in person, making sure to inspect the composite photos of the legislators of every session since 1869. For information on group tours, call 307-277-7220. See http://ai.state.wy.us/capitoltour/tour%20information/index.htm for a schedule.

Cheyenne Frontier Days™ will be held July 19-28, 2013. For more information, visit http://www.cfdrodeo.com or call (307) 778-7200.

Another July event celebrating the influence of cowboys in Wyoming is The Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering held in Encampment, Wyo. This year’s activities are planned for July 19-21, 2013. For more information, visit http://www.grandencampmentgathering.org or call (307) 326-8855.

And the glorious Fourth is a great time to visit Independence Rock, named for an 1830 trapper blowout there when mountain man Bill Sublette and friends “kept the 4th of July in due style.” Get field-trip directions and learn more at Will Bagley’s history of Independence Rock on WyoHistory.org.

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New This Month

Among several new items this month on WyoHistory.org is Steven Bingo’s history of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, which was the third largest town in Wyoming when 10,000 Americans of Japanese descent were interned there during World War II. Bingo is an archivist at Washington State University Library in Pullman, Wa., where he processes and digitizes collections related to the Japanese-American incarceration. Among these are the George and Frank C. Hirahara Collection, source of 17 stunning historic photos from the camps that we’ve published with his article.

Also new is Jessica Clark’s history of the May 1986 bombing at Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville on Wyoming’s western border. The bomber and his wife were killed, but all 154 hostages—schoolchildren and staff—survived, though about 70 were hospitalized with burns. Many participants have since described that survival as frankly miraculous. In the coming weeks WyoHistory.org will publish oral histories from 11 of the survivors. These were collected in 2010 by Wyoming State Archives staffers Sue Castaneda and Mark Junge, part of an oral history project titled “Survivor is My Name.”

Check out our Calendar

Under “WyoHistory.org news” near the bottom of the home page, click on Learn more under “Calendar,” and find a Google calendar of upcoming talks, re-enactments, gatherings and other history-related events around Wyoming.

Please contact Editor Tom Rea at editor@wyohistory.org for information about how you can submit activities to our calendar of upcoming history events throughout Wyoming.

Come join us as we explore Wyoming’s History. We welcome your feedback. Send comments, questions or suggestions to Tom Rea at editor@wyohistory.org.

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