This month, we report on a daring autumn flight by Northern Cheyenne men, women and children, and also on Fort Halleck’s crucial role and location on the Overland Trail.

Privations and strategy on the long journey home

In a saga of bitter hardship and resolve, 350 Northern Cheyenne led by Little Wolf and Dull Knife escaped the Darlington Agency in present Oklahoma late in 1878. Struggling north, they were imprisoned in Nebraska, broke out and, crossing a corner of Wyoming Territory, finally returned to their Montana homelands. Read more in Gerry Robinson’s article “The Cheyenne Homecoming.”

Protecting emigrants, stagecoach passengers and freighters

During the Civil War, varying companies of soldiers from five states served at Fort Halleck on the Overland Trail in what’s now south-central Wyoming. They defended stagecoach stations, passengers, freighters and emigrant trains. Some died in blizzards, some witnessed a legal hanging and some lynched an African-American ambulance driver. Read more in Rebecca Hein’s article “Fort Halleck and the Overland Trail.”

New Lesson Plan

Life in Wyoming in World War II

Calendar Events

National Museum of Military Vehicles delays grand opening
The $100 million Military Vehicles Museum in Dubois, encountering recent COVID-19-related delays, has postponed its opening date.
 
Share your COVID-19 experience
The American Heritage Center, Wyoming State Archives and Wyoming State Museum welcome your personal COVID-19 story. For more information, visit the AHC website, contact Kathy Marquis kathy.marquis@wyo.gov at the Archives or contact Jennifer Alexander jennifer.alexander@wyo.gov at the State Museum.
 
Historic Preservation Month
Our friends at the Alliance for Historic Wyoming remind us that May is National Historic Preservation Month. Every year, like preservationists across the nation, the alliance celebrates our nation’s heritage through our historic places and brings awareness to the benefits of preservation. Visit historicwyoming.org/historicpreservation throughout the month of May for more information on buildings in Thermopolis, Sheridan and Rawlins.
 
And on WyoHistory.org, see these articles about some of Wyoming’s most interesting—and well preserved—buildings: 

• A History of the Wyoming Capitol
• Wyoming Parkitecture
• Modernizing National Park Facilities: Mission 66 in Wyoming
• Casper Odd Fellows Building
• Guernsey State Park
• Granger Stage Station
• South Pass City
• The Mountain View Hotel, Centennial