From people who explored the western frontier to ones who found ways to tap and market its energy resources, WyoHistory.org starts 2015 with articles about pipelines, pioneers and fuel production.

Jim Baker roams the West

Scout, guide, ferryman, freighter and stockman Jim Baker trapped with Jim Bridger and Kit Carson in the 1830s, guided troops in the 1850s and briefly ran a ferry across the Green River. In 1873, he built a cabin near the Little Snake River in southern Wyoming, where he died in 1898. Read more in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Jim Baker, Frontier Scout” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/jim-baker-frontier-scout. 

Cheyenne plant fuels planes

During World War II, Cheyenne’s M.H. “Bud” Robineau scrambled to put together deals enabling the construction of an airplane-fuel plant next to the Frontier Refinery he owned. Help from U.S. Sen. Joseph O’Mahoney proved crucial in cutting wartime red tape. The plant came online in 1944 and continued to produce high-octane fuel after the war. Read more in historian Mike Mackey’s article “Cheyenne’s 100-Octane Aviation Fuel Plant” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/cheyennes-100-octane-aviation-fuel-plant.

Pipelines transport oil, gas

If wells are the hearts, pipelines are the arteries of the oil business. Since the first line was laid 45 miles from the Salt Creek Field to Casper refineries in 1911, the pipeline business has grown steadily in Wyoming, transporting our hydrocarbons to local and world markets. Read more in journalist Tom Mast’s article “Oil to Market: A History of Pipelines in Wyoming” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/oil-market-history-pipelines-wyoming.

Tie flume moves railroad ties

A much different kind of pipeline, the Tongue River Tie Flume carried 2 million railroad ties from the Bighorn Mountains to the Burlington Railroad for 20 years beginning in 1893. Ties moved at high speed down 38 miles of flumes across trestles and through tunnels in canyon walls. Workers’ camps were large mountain villages with schools and blacksmith shops. Learn more in writer Rebecca Hein’s article “The Tongue River Tie Flume” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/tongue-river-tie-flume.

Devil’s Gate marks historic trails

Devil’s Gate on the Sweetwater River became an important landmark for emigrants on the Oregon/California/Mormon trails. Trader Charles Lajeunesse ran a post there in the 1850s, not long before a Mormon handcart company sought shelter from a blizzard at nearby Martin’s Cove. Later, the famous Sun Ranch was headquartered there for 125 years. Learn more about this historic Wyoming landmark in the State Historic Preservation Office article “Devil’s Gate” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/devils-gate. 

In other news

We again send special thanks this month to the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources for support for the articles on pipelines and the 100-octane plant—part of an ongoing series on the history of Wyoming’s energy and extraction businesses.
 
Watch for more articles soon about Wyoming’s historic trails, like the new one this month on Devil’s Gate. These are part of a collaboration with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and TravelStorysGPS™ of Wilson, Wyo., to transfer to WyoHistory.org the information on many dozens of trails spots from a historic-trails website SHPO developed a dozen years ago.
 
Travelers who visit the sites will be able to hear three minutes of audio information about them via their smartphones or other mobile devices, once they download the free app at TravelStorysGPS™. This is a similar—but much larger—project to the Indian Wars of Wyoming tour we completed with TravelStorysGPS™ in 2014.