This month we feature an artist who asserted his Wyoming roots most of his life, but only lived in the state a few months.

A surprising and successful style

Though born in Cody, Jackson Pollock soon moved away and never returned, and the state has never claimed him. But Pollock vigorously claimed Wyoming—this wild place. Risk was what he was all about—both in his life and in the revolutionary drips and swirls of his paint. Read more in John Clayton’s article, “Jackson Pollock’s Wyoming Links.”

Calendar Events

Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, Buffalo, Wyo.
Echoes of the Past Cemetery Tours, Willow Grove Cemetery, Buffalo
Wednesday through Saturday, Aug. 10-13, and Aug. 17- 20
Some tours start at 7:30; others at 8:30. Tickets required for all tours.
For more information, click here.
 
Sip n' History with Danny Michael
Join us as we listen to the associate curator of the Cody Firearms Museum (Buffalo Bill Center of the West) as he talks about firearms.
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
For more information, click here.

 
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyo.
Coffee & Curators: McCracken Research Library
Free for members! Coffee & Curators invites members to enjoy coffee, refreshments and the company of other members as one of the Center of the West’s curators speaks on a topic inspired by the Center’s permanent collections.
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
For more information, click here.
 
 
Meeteetse Museums, Meeteetse, Wyo.
Mining Town of Kirwin: A Look at Geology, Ecology, and Historical Perspectives
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022 8:30 a.m., leave museum; tour starts at 10:00 a.m.
Tour the historic mining town of Kirwin, including a presentation on the geology of the area by Wyoming State Geologist Erin Campbell, plus a look at historic newspaper articles from Kirwin’s heyday and an ecology tour led by Kassandra Skeen, Shoshone National Forest Service.
For more information, click here.
 
Tour of Arland
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The tour of the historic (and infamous) town of Arland is back this year led by Clay Gibbons. Pre-registration is required for this tour to keep the number of vehicles limited.
For more information, call 307-868-2423 or click here.
 
Dr. Lawrence Loendorf leads the Meeteetse Museums’ tour of Legend Rock
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Tours limited to 10 people. Please pre-register.
For more information, call 307-868-2423 or click here.
 
 
Fremont County Museums
Dubois Museum, Dubois, Wyo.
The Wild Country and Homesteaders of Wyoming
Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, 7:00 p.m.
This program will teach us about some of the “Hollywood” ties to Dubois and the truths of early homesteading in Wyoming. For more information, click here.
 
Sublette Pass History Trek
Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Hike the trail (approximately four miles) of the early explorers through Sublette Pass starting at Wind River Lake and ending at Brooks Lake. For the “to bring” list and other details, click here.
 
Annual Tie Hack Trek
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
We will follow the tie hacks up the West Dunoir Valley to see the location of the main headquarters, and where they harvested and stacked the ties. For more information, call 307-455-2284 or click here.
 
Lander Pioneer Museum, Lander, Wyo.
Shoshone Mission Trek
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to noon
Visit the historic mission founded by Father John Roberts, a Welsh missionary who came to the Lander Valley in 1883 to work among the Shoshone and Arapaho. $10.00 per person; reservations required. Call the Pioneer Museum at 307-332-3339 or, for more information, click here.
 
The Granier Ditch Adventure Trek
Saturday, Aug. 27, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Learn about the famous Granier ditch, dug in 1882 to bring water to the South Pass area to hydraulically mine for gold. ATV needed, and reservations are required; call 307-332-3339. For more information, click here.
 
Gold Panning Day
Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about gold panning the way the early miners did it in the gold fields of the West. Pan for gold along Baldwin Creek on the museum grounds.
Please register in advance; call 307-332-3339 or click here.
 
Riverton Museum, Riverton, Wyo.
Ranch Day
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Participants will learn about and experience pioneer cooking techniques, roping, branding, rodeo and the animals of the area with activities that are fun for the whole family. For more information, call 307-856-2665 or click here.
 
J. B. Okie Manor Tour
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Experience a rare tour of the J.B. Okie Mansion that was built in 1901 by J.B. Okie, a sheep tycoon in Lost Cabin, Wyoming. Reservation required; call 307-856-2665. For more information, click here.
 
 
South Pass City Historic Site, South Pass City, Wyo.
Paint the Town Red
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, 6:30 p.m.
A fun evening of tasting historic cocktail recipes in one of our historic saloons. Tickets are $60 per person, support a variety of restorations and include a one-year membership in the Friends of South Pass City. For more information, and to reserve your ticket, click here.
 
Great South Pass City History Hunt
Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, 11:00 a.m.
Teams are given an initial clue when they arrive that will send them on a chase covering the whole of South Pass City State Historic Site. For a “to bring” list, to register and for more information, click  here.
 
Carissa Mine tours through Labor Day, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2:00 p.m.
Tours include a walk through the historic structures, live demonstration of milling equipment and a great story of life in a gold town. Take the tour to see and learn about one of the best-preserved historic mining operations in the world. For more information, click here.
 
English Tunnel tour
The English Tunnel was started in 1868 as an exploratory tunnel looking for gold bearing quartz veins.  Using dynamite, shovels & picks, miners fought their way into the heart of the mountain side. For more information, click here.
 
 
Museum of the Mountain Man, Pinedale, Wyo.
New Fork River Crossing Historical Park
Explore the Lander Trail crossing of the New Fork River and a once-bustling emigrant campsite. Walk the park and imagine what life was like for emigrants 160 years ago. Self-guided. For a description of the trail, and for more information, click here.
 
 
Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, Jackson, Wyo.
Special exhibit: William Henry Jackson, Pioneer Photographer, on view through March 2023 in our Community Co-op Corner.
 
The exhibit “Wyoming Women” from the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center highlights 30 framed historical photos of Wyoming women in leadership roles in the outdoors and their communities.
 
For other information on these two exhibits, click here. Then scroll down.
 
 
Laramie Plains Museum, Laramie, Wyo.
Tour the museum; it takes about an hour. Tours available Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, click here, or call 307-742-4448.
 
 
National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, Casper, Wyo.
Independence Rock
A BLM interpreter will be present at Independence Rock Mondays and Fridays through October 14, 2022, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For more information, click here.
 
Bruce Berst, Trails History Reenactor
Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022
 
Trails Center 20^th Anniversary Celebration
Tuesday through Saturday, Aug. 9-13, 2022
 
Premier of “The Battle of Red Buttes.”
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022
Check out our brand-new documentary on the Battle of Red Buttes. The film will soon be available to view online and periodically throughout the day at the Trails Center until the end of the year.
 
Meet Josh Kirk of History Channel’s “Mountain Men.”
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
A Wyoming homesteader, hunter/gatherer, published author, singer/song writer and bison ranch manager, Kirk is a true mountain man. Come say hello and hear him speak about his adventures.
 
Living history: the life of a pioneer in the 1800s
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022 and Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022
Local legends Jean Smart and the Merchant Family will set up a pioneer camp and do living history all weekend at the Trails Center.
 
Spencer Pelton, Wyoming State Archaeologist
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Pelton will discuss recent excavations of a site used in the late prehistoric age and as a stage station in the late 19^thcentury.
 
Blacksmithing Demonstration and Wyoming History
Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20 and 21, 2022
 
Oregon-California Trails Association Annual Convention
Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022 through Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. For more information, click here.
 
To view the Trails Center’s calendar of events, click here. For more information on the above events, call 307-265-8030.
 
 
Washakie Museum and Cultural Center, Worland, Wyo.
The Riotous Revel of Old-Timey Fun: The History of American Square Dancing
Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Join us as Curator Stevie Kowalczyk describes how politics, trade and classism created the cultural gumbo that produced this distinctively American art form. For more information, click here. To pre-register, click here.

 
Anna Miller Museum, Newcastle, Wyo.
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022
Vintage motorcycle and antique bicycle show. For more information, call 307-746-4188 or click here. 
 
 
National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois, Wyo.
For the current tour schedule, click here.
 
 
Hoofprints of the Past Museum, Kaycee, Wyo.
Johnson County War Tour
Aug. 13, 2022, 9:00 a.m. (check in at 8:30 a.m.) to approximately 3:00 p.m.
Travel by bus the approximate route of the invaders in their fateful attack on the rustlers in April 1892. For more information and to register, click here.
 
 
Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, Casper, Wyo.
Family Fun Day: Building an Air Base
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 10:00 a.m. to noon
Learn about the history and buildings of the World War II Casper Army Air Base. For more information, click here.
 
Fundraiser hike up Bomber Mountain, Sheridan, Wyo.
Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022
For more information, call the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, 307-472-1857
 
 
Historic Bishop Home, Casper, Wyo.
Exhibit, Summer 2022: 100 Years of Quilts
Teddy Bear Tea, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022
For more information, call 307-472-1857.
 
 
Wyoming State Historical Society
69th Annual Meeting hosted by the Platte County Historical Society
September 9-11, 2022. 
In addition to the required meetings where the business of the Society will be discussed, there will be time for plenty of exploration, including a trip to the historic town of Sunrise, Wyoming. For more details and registration information, watch the August issue of Wyoming History News, contact Linda Fabian at linda@wyshs.org, or click here.