Not Much Has Changed in 70 Years

Velma Linford’s textbook, Wyoming Frontier State published in 1947 ends with words that seem as appropriate today as they were when written more than 70 years ago. Linford ends here textbook with these sentiments.

Legislative interim committees are busy studying the revision of educational laws, the revision of election laws, and new sources of income for the state. Members on the committees are men who are aware of the needs of the state as well as of the state’s potentialities. They expect to have definite recommendations for the 1949 legislature.

Faced by problems which will determine Wyoming Tomorrow, the state must necessarily emerge from its frontier status or face a future as the playground of the nation.

Maybe that is where we are still heading, 70 years later, a playground, tourist destination, for the nation. Everything from our spectacular views, to wildlife, and even our low population, seem to attract visitors. With that in mind, possibly we should be spending more, not less, on advertising our state. It also might be a time to promote, expand, and update tourist attractions and activities in the eastern and central parts of the state. By doing this, we might be able to slow visitors as they dash across the state to visit Yellowstone, The Black Hills, Glacier National Park, or Rocky Mountain National Park, depending on which direction they travel.

I love our state parks, and now might be the time to take a long look at what else we can do with our State Parks and Historical Sites and some of our state land to attract more tourism. We might start by looking at the family entertainment venues in places like the Black Hills to see what keeps people there for more than a quick drive through. As much as some hate to look at what others are doing, we might also look at the multitude of programs available for kids and families in the Nebraska State Parks system.

Just my thoughts!

All Photos are from the Castle at Guernsey State Park

Cheyenne - The RR Town

On the fourth of July in 1867, General Grenville Dodge set the spot for Wyoming’s first railroad terminal. Crow Creek was the spot. He named this spot Cheyenne after the Indian tribe in the area. It didn’t take long for a city to grow from the terminal.

Robert Strahorn, while preparing his Handbook, asked one of the first settlers of the city if he could point out the first house erected in Cheyenne. “The old settlers replied, “ well, one fine day, early in July, 1867, four or five hundred of us pitched our tents here, where there wasn’t a sign of civilization, and about half of us woke up at daylight the next morning to find that the other half were living in board shanties.” **

**From Velma Linford’s, Wyoming Frontier State.

1890 Train

Cheyenne, at the time, was constantly referred to as a creation of the Union Pacific Railroad. Within weeks a city blossomed. By the end of summer, more than 300 businesses were open in Cheyenne. By November when the first rails made it to town, 4,000 people were living there. A year later the population dropped to 1,500 but the town remained and grew, reaching a population 4,500 people by the early 1880s.

Fifty-nine railroads were incorporated in Wyoming between 1869 and 1900. Seems like we should have tracks running all over the state. Many of these railroads were only on paper and never able to raise the money to build any miles of track. But some track was getting built, a reported 290 miles in the first few years of twentieth century.

Train heading west