Wyoming History

The last time a solar eclipse passed over Wyoming, our state had six million sheep and 190,000 people.

71 years ago today, on August 11, 1946, the Wyoming Air National Guard was officially created. Over the years, the 153rd Airlift Wing has flown in the Korean War, Vietnam, the invasion of Panama, the Gulf War and the War on Terror. The group also assisted humanity missions in Bosnia, El Salvador, Haiti, Indonesia, Kosovo, Serbia and Somalia...

"Wild" Bill Hickok was one of the most famous gunslingers in American history. He was also a hopeless romantic. 141 years ago, on August 2, 1876, the old west icon was shot and killed at a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. Several months earlier, Hickok had written a love letter to his wife, Agnes Lake, with instructions to read it upon his death...

When, and if, Casper millionaire and philanthropist Tony Cercy stands trial for sexual assualt, it will likely rank among the most infamous trials in Wyoming history. To properly prepare you for the media circus, here's a look back at the biggest blockbuster court cases ever conducted in the Cowboy State...

August 1, 1985, a tragic flash flood in Cheyenne claimed 12 lives and caused over $60 million in property damage.

Before thousands flocked to Yellowstone. Before Jackson Hole was a world class ski resort. This Wyoming destination drove people off the beaten path to its banks.

Did you know people have been living in Wyoming for over 2,500 years? Archaeologists from Sheffield University in England recently uncovered artifacts from 13 ancient villages in the Wind River Range. The recent discovery sheds new light on ancient people living at high elevations...

This week marks the 177th anniversary of the first Catholic Mass ever conducted in the Cowboy State. July 5, 1840, Father Pierre De Smet presided over the mass during the annual Green River Rendezvous at Horse Creek in Sublette County, near the present-day town of Pinedale...

80 years ago this week, on June 28, 1937, Fritz Wiessner became the first person to "free climb" Devils Tower. Although the German-born mountain climber was the first to scale the monument using modern techniques, many men had completed the ascent with the aid of a wooden ladder built decades earlier by two local ranchers...

The 2017 World Series of Poker is underway in Las Vegas. To celebrate, here's a look back at the luckiest gambler in Wyoming history. Of all the card games ever played in the Cowboy State, and there have been many, the stakes were never higher than a legendary poker game at a Douglas saloon in 1906...

99 years ago today, one of the biggest horse races in Wyoming history began. Dubbed "The Great Horse Race of 1908", the 500-mile run from Evanston, Wyoming, to Denver was sponsored by The Denver Post. Although there were 25 official entries, the betting favorites were Cody, Wyoming, native Charles Workman and his horse Teddy and Greeley, Colorado, native Dode Wykert and his horse, Sam...

According the Wyoming State Library, over 4,200 patents have been issued to inventors here in the Cowboy State. Here's a look back at some of the greatest inventions in Wyoming history. The first patent in the Territory of Wyoming was issued in 1870 to George Choate, who developed an improvement to shovel handles...