Featured Topics

Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West

Women’s Suffrage and Women’s Rights

From Sparti and his Spear to Pete and his Pistol

Dressed as a cowboy and donning a large stick-on mustache, graduate student Don Bogdan quickly became recognized as the “loudest and most obvious Cowboy fan at University of Wyoming sports events.” His portrayal of Pistol Pete became a staple at sporting events at University of Wyoming. Learn more about the man behind the mustache and the origins of Wyoming’s most beloved icons.

Read More
Jaggar in the Absarokas

In 1893, young geologist Thomas Jaggar joined Arnold Hague’s expedition to map the Absaroka Mountains east of Yellowstone. Their 77-day journey through Wyoming’s rugged terrain documented the geology of what would become Shoshone National Forest, producing some of the earliest photographs and scientific records of this remote region.

Read More
Crime Spree Across Southwest Wyoming

On March 4, 1955, Charles Billings began a 16-hour crime spree across southwest Wyoming that left two men dead and terrorized multiple communities. Starting with a burglary in Kemmerer, Billings murdered Albert Maffei, wounded two others, kidnapped a teenager in Evanston, killed Deputy Sheriff Ed Phillips, and was ultimately killed in a shootout with law enforcement in Green River after taking a family hostage.

Read More
Reborn in Robes

Founded in 1915, the Second Klu Klux Klan spread rapidly across the United States in the 1920s—including in Wyoming. Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross and prominent historian T.A. Larson claimed that the Klan did not have much influence in Wyoming, but newspaper records show otherwise. Uncover the hidden truth of Klan activities in Wyoming.

Read More
Who was Lucretia Marchbanks?

Lucretia Marchbanks experienced her first gold rush as an enslaved woman on the California Trail—it wouldn’t be her last. After the Civil War, gold rushes again brought her west, to Colorado and finally Deadwood, where she found fortune and fame. Learn more about a self-made woman’s journey from slavery to ranch life in Wyoming’s Black Hills.

Read More
The Origin Story of Pistol Pete
Jaggar in the Absarokas
Crime Spree Across Southwest Wyoming
Who was Lucretia Marchbanks?

The Latest from Our Blog

The Whirlwind Romance of Will and Lulu

In spring 1865, Louisa Frederici met William F. Cody after accidentally slapping him—mistaking the handsome stranger for her prankster cousin. Their whirlwind romance led to marriage a year later, but frontier life tested the bond formed during their passionate courtship in St. Louis.

Keep Reading

Education

Explore WyoHistory.org’s education packages, designed for classroom use.

View the Education Page
Map of locations

Interactive Map

Explore Wyoming’s history using our interactive map of articles. 

View the map

Historical Topics

Contributors

Subscribe to the WyoHistory.org Newsletter

The WyoHistory.org monthly newsletter includes updates of new articles on the website, info on history-related events, news about our contributors, etc. Add your name to the list to stay informed about all things history in Wyoming.

Learn More and Sign Up

Like Us on Facebook

Join the discussion about Wyoming history and receive updates when new articles are posted to the website.

Like Us Now

Support WyoHistory.org

We need your support to update the website with new articles and keep our archive of Wyoming history growing. To learn more about how to donate to WyoHistory.org, please reach out to editor@wyohistory.org.