An early census, advances in DNA research and Black History Month

This month we feature Fort Laramie’s residents in 1860, an unusual bacterium and, as February is Black History Month, past articles on Wyoming’s African-Americans.

Soldiers, Indians, traders, freighters, stagecoaches and traveling families

U.S. Census taker James Clopper counted 366 people with military connections at Fort Laramie in 1860, and another 300 civilians outside fort boundaries. It was a diverse group: Soldiers, Indians, traders and freighters lived there; stagecoaches carrying people and mail, westbound young families and a few handcart-pulling Mormons were all passing through. Read more in James Nottage’s article, “A Frontier Census: Fort Laramie in 1860.”

Huge results from a tiny life form

A Nobel Prize, big business and scientific breakthroughs including Covid-19 tests and vaccines were decades in the future when microbiologist Thomas D. Brock began taking samples from Yellowstone Park’s hot springs in the summer of 1964. Read more in Rebecca Hein’s article, “The Yellowstone Microbe That Changed the World.”

Calendar Events

Rockpile Museum, Gillette, Wyo.
Edward Gillette: A New Englander Comes West
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
Jessica Salzman discusses surveyor Edward Gillette and his role in the railroad that changed the face of northern Wyoming.
For more information, click here.
 
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyo.
Buffalo Bill, Butteri, and the 1890 Bucking Contest in Rome, presented by Dr. Renee Lagreid
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo Bill’s 1890 show in Rome involved a series of bucking contests between his cowboys and local Italian cowboys, or butteri, from a local estate. For more information, click here.
 
Bob Richard with Al & Pete Simpson, part 2
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Old-timers and Early Day Women – Part 2
For this talk Bob welcomes back special guests Al and Pete Simpson, who once again help him share great stories and photographs about Old Timers and Early Day Women of the Cody area. For more information, click here.
 
Washakie Museum and Cultural Center, Worland, Wyo.
Art, Advertising, and Travel Postcards
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
To learn more about this presentation by Kurt Johnson, call the museum at 307-347-4102.
 
Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, Casper, Wyo.
Family Fun Day
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Test your codebreaking skills against some basic codes and cyphers.
For more information, click here.
 
To read the Winter 2023 issue of the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum’s quarterly newsletter, click here.
 
Natrona County Historical Society
Former Speaker of the Wyoming House Rick Tempest will present "Old Political Buttons"
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, 6:30 p.m.,  Crawford Room, Natrona County Public Library
For more information, call or email Becky Steensland, 307-259-3350, bsteen@bresnan.net.
 
Wyoming State Archives
Kent Hargraves will present "Colly Collison: A Pilot Lost in Time"
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
While investigating the story of a plane crash on the family ranch, Kent Hargraves rediscovered the life of Harold “Colly” Collison, one of Wyoming aviation’s early stars. 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.
 
Museum of the Mountain Man, Pinedale, Wyo.
Watch a short video, Legacy of the Mountain Men.
 
National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois, Wyo.
For the current tour schedule, click here.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month and a good time to remember contributions of African-Americans to making Wyoming what it is today.