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December
December 31
Many Wyoming Post Offices were discontinued on December 31. Here are four that were established, or renamed. 1883 The Granite Canyon Post Office was re-established as Granite Canon Post Office on December 31, 1883.1868 Percy Post Office was one that was created. It was established on December 31, 1868 in Laramie County (now in Carbon County), Dakota Territory. Percy was named for Percy T. Brown, an engineer with the Union Pacific Railroad. |
December 30
1878 On December 30, 1878, Camp Brown was renamed Fort Washakie in honor of Shoshone Indian Chief Washakie. 1889  |
December 29
1845 The Independent Republic of Texas existed from December 19, 1836 through
December 28, 1845 and included a part of Wyoming. On December 29, 1845,
Texas was admitted into the Union as the 28th state. A part of Wyoming
was admitted as Texas on that date. Below is an 1846 map of Western
United States showing the state of Texas. It was published by S.
Augustus Mitchell. The image is courtesy of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection  |
December 28
1891 Slack Post Office was established on December 28, 1891. Slack was in
Sheridan County, a few miles west of Parkman near Pass Creek. A
newspaper column first titled "Pass Creek Pointers" then "Slack
Pointers" appeared irregularly in the Sheridan Post from 1890-1892. 1917 Cactus Post Office in Campbell County was established on December 28, 1917. It was named for the cactus on the surrounding plains. A proposed name for the post office was Shultz after the postmaster, John W. Shultz. The Post Office was discontinued in 1933 and its duties assumed by the Pine Tree Post Office. Pine Tree is still listed on topographic maps of Wyoming but Cactus is not. |
December 27
1867 Carter County was created, boundaries defined, and South Pass City
named the county seat on December 27, 1867, by the Seventh Legislative
Assembly of Dakota Territory. The First Wyoming Territorial Legislative
Assembly changed the name of Carter County to Sweetwater County in
1869.  1899 On December 27, 1899, Cheyenne received a $50,000.00 Carnegie Library grant. Laramie County's Carnegie Library opened on May 19, 1902.  |
December 26
1871 The "Laramie Daily Independent" was established by E.A. Slack and T.J. Webster on December 26, 1871.1888 Dallas Post Office was established on May 19, 1884 with Josephine Werlen as postmaster. It was discontinued on August 5, 1887 but re-established on December 26, 1888. 1890 On December 26, 1890, the name and location of the Bellewood Post Office was changed to Glendo. 1902 Francis Seth Frost died on this date in 1902. Frost and Albert
Bierstadt accompanied Frederick W. Lander on his expedition of 1859
which resulted in the construction of the Lander Cutoff. They made
sketches and took stereoscopic photographs in Western Wyoming. Frost
completed a painting of South Pass and the Wind River Mountains in
1860.  1913  1915 Elijah Nicholas Wilson died on December 26, 1915. Wilson, Wyoming is named for him. He received a patent on land at that location in 1905. He was the author of White Indian Boy, which was about his life among the Shoshone Indians. |
December 24
1888 Slater Post Office in Carbon County was established on April 9, 1883 with William T.
Morgan as postmaster. It was moved to Routt County, Colorado on
December 24, 1888. 1914  |
December 23
1872 George Catlin, known for his paintings, sketches and writings of Plains Indian culture, died on December 23, 1872. Catlin visited Fort Laramie in the summer of 1833. He wrote "I ascended the Platte to Fort Laramie ... and at the Fort saw a great number of Arapahos and Cheyennes, and rode to the shores of the Great Salt Lake." Several of his paintings of wildlife can be seen at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson. |
December 22
1812 Robert Stuart and his party reached the Laramie River on December 22, 1812. They had followed the North Platte River and on December 22, reached what Stuart wrote as "a well wooded stream apparently of considerable magnitude [that] came in from the south west." 1911 Stewart Post Office in Goshen County was established on December 22, 1911 with L. Stewart as its postmaster. A Louis N. (or M.) Stewart received a patent on land at this location on March 10, 1915. Stewart is representative of many places in Wyoming that were either named after the postmaster and/or the land owner. 1921 On December 22, 1921, President Warren Harding signed an Executive Order that designated "All lands that are now or may be hereafter included within the boundaries of the National Elk Refuge are hereby reserved and set apart as a refuge and breeding ground for birds."1944 The Boysen Dam and Reservoir was authorized by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944. The dam is built across the Wind River in the Wind River Canyon above Thermopolis. It was named for Asmus Boysen, who had mining interests in the area and envisioned the Boysen Dam as a source of power that would aid the mines. |
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