Big Horn medicine wheel

There is evidence of prehistoric human habitation in the region known today as the U.S state of Wyoming stretching back roughly 13,000 years. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. Stone projectile points associated with the Clovis, Folsom and Plano cultures have been discovered throughout Wyoming. In Archaeology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted and used either as Knife or Projectile tip or both commonly called an Arrowhead The Clovis culture (sometimes referred to as the Llano culture) is a Prehistoric Paleoindian culture that first appears in the archaeological The Folsom Complex is a name given by Archaeologists to a specific Paleo-Indian Archaeological culture that occupied much of central North America The Plano cultures is a name given by Archaeologists to a group of disparate Hunter-gatherer communities that occupied the Great Plains area of North In the Big Horn Mountains there is a medicine wheel that was constructed between 800 and 900 years ago. The Big Horn Mountains are a Mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending Medicine wheels, or sacred hoops were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground It is believed that the Big Horn medicine wheel is part of a larger complex of sites in northern Wyoming that show 7000 years of human use^[1]. When white explorers first entered the region, they encountered numerous American Indian tribes including the Arapaho, Bannock, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kiowa, Nez Perce, Sioux, Shoshone and Ute. White is a Color, the perception which is evoked by Light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive Cone cells in the Human eye Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming The Bannock or Banate are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the northern Great Basin in what is now southeastern Oregon and The Piegan Blackfeet ( Aamsskáápipikani (Southern Pikáni /Piegan or simply as Pikáni in Blackfoot) are a tribe of Native Americans Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taa'e (more commonly The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone The Kiowa (ˈkaɪoʊwə are a nation of American Indians who migrated from what is now Canada to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma. The Nez Perce (ˌnɛzˈpɝs are a Tribe of Native Americans who live in the Pacific Northwest region ( Columbia River Plateau) of the United Sioux (pronounced SUE are a Native American and First Nations people The Shoshone ( or) are a Native American tribe with three large divisions the Northern the Western and the Eastern The Utes (/juːts/ " yoots " are an ethnically related group of American Indians now living primarily in Utah and Colorado.

Early Explorers

Although French trappers may have ventured into the northern sections of the state in the late 1700s, John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was probably the first white American to enter the region in 1807. John Colter (c1774 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813) was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804−1806 His reports of thermal activity in the Yellowstone area were considered at the time to be fictional. Robert Stuart and a party of five men returning from Astoria, Oregon discovered South Pass in 1812. For the British diplomat of the same name see Robert Stuart (diplomat (1812-1901 Robert Stuart (1785-1848 was the son of David Stuart The City of Astoria is the County seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. South Pass (elevation) is a Mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The route was later followed by the Oregon Trail. Pioneers traveled across the Oregon Trail, one of the main overland migration routes on the North American Continent, in wagons in order to settle new parts of the In 1850, Jim Bridger located what is now known as Bridger Pass, which was later used by both the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868, and in the 20th century by Interstate 80. James or Jim Bridger (March 1804 &ndash July 17 1881 was among the foremost mountain men, trappers scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western Interstate 80 (I-80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States (after I-90) Bridger also explored the Yellowstone region and like Colter, most of his reports on that region of the state were considered at the time to be tall tales. Tall Tale, also known as Tall Tale The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill is a 1995 family Western movie starring Patrick During the early 19th century, trappers known as mountain men flocked to the mountains of western Wyoming in search of beaver. The activity of animal trapping has two separate but related meanings The Mountain Men is also the name of a 1980 movie starring Charlton Heston. In 1824, the first mountain man rendezvous was held in Wyoming. The gatherings continued annually until 1840 with the majority of them held within Wyoming territory.

Emigration Trails

Independence Rock, a famous Wyoming landmark along the Oregon Trail

The route later known as the Oregon Trail was already in regular use by traders and explorers in the early 1830s. Pioneers traveled across the Oregon Trail, one of the main overland migration routes on the North American Continent, in wagons in order to settle new parts of the Pioneers traveled across the Oregon Trail, one of the main overland migration routes on the North American Continent, in wagons in order to settle new parts of the The trail snakes across Wyoming, entering the state on the eastern border near the present day town of Torrington following the North Platte River to the current town of Casper. Torrington is a city in and the County seat of Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The North Platte River is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately 680 mi (1094 km long in the U Casper is the only City in and the County seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States, although the county is home to a number It then crosses South Pass, and exits on the western side of the state near Cokeville. South Pass (elevation) is a Mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. Cokeville is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. In 1847, Mormon emigrants blazed the Mormon Trail, which mirrors the Oregon Trail, but splits off at South Pass and continues south to Fort Bridger and into Utah. TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon The Mormon Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. Over 350,000 emigrants followed these trails to destinations in Utah, California and Oregon between 1840 and 1859. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. In 1863, gold was discovered in Montana, drawing miners north along the Bozeman and Bridger trails through the Powder River Country and Big Horn Basin respectively. The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold rush territory of Montana. The Bridger Trail was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold fields of Montana. The Powder River Country refers to an area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming in the United States. The Bighorn Basin is a Plateau region and Intermontane basin approximately 100 miles (160 km wide in north-central Wyoming in the United States

Indian Wars

A 12 pounder mountain howitzer on display at Fort Laramie in eastern Wyoming. A howitzer is a type of Artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles Fort Laramie National Historic Site, located in present-day Goshen County, Wyoming

The influx of emigrants and settlers into the state lead to more encounters with Native Americans, resulting in an increase of military presence along the trails. Military posts such as Fort Laramie were established to maintain order in the area. Fort Laramie National Historic Site, located in present-day Goshen County, Wyoming In 1851, the first Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed between the United States and representatives of Native American nations to ensure peace and the safety of settlers on the trails. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed on September 17 between United States treaty commissioners and representatives of the Sioux, Cheyenne The 1850s were subsequently quiet, but increased settler encroachment into lands promised to the Native Americans caused tensions to rise again, especially after the Bozeman Trail was blazed in 1864 through the hunting grounds of the Powder River Country, which had been promised to the tribes in the 1851 treaty. The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold rush territory of Montana. The Powder River Country refers to an area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming in the United States. As encounters between settlers and Native Americans grew more serious in 1865, Major General Grenville M. Dodge ordered the first Powder River Expedition to attempt to quell the violence. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries Grenville Mellen Dodge ( April 12 1831 &ndash January 3 1916) was a Union army officer on the Frontier and during the The Powder River Expedition may refer to either of two 19th Century military expeditions by the U The expedition ended in a battle against the Arapaho in the Battle of the Tongue River. The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming The Battle of the Tongue River sometimes referred to as the Connor Battle was the major engagement of the Powder River Expedition which destroyed the Arapaho The next year the fighting escalated into Red Cloud's War which was the first major military conflict between the United States and the Native Americans in Wyoming. Red Cloud's War (also referred to as the Bozeman War or the Powder River War) was an armed conflict between the Lakota and the United States in the The second Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 ended the war by closing the Powder River Country to whites. The Treaty of Fort Laramie (also called the Sioux Treaty of 1868) was an agreement between the United States and the Lakota nation Yanktonai Violation of this treaty by miners in the Black Hills lead to the Black Hills War in 1876, which was fought mainly along the border of Wyoming and Montana. The Black Hills War (also known as the Great Sioux War or Little Big Horn Campaign) was a series of conflicts between the Lakota ( Sioux) Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern

Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad reached the town of Cheyenne, which later became the state capital, in 1867. Cheyenne ( /ʃaɪˈæn/ or /ʃaɪˈɛn/) is the capital of the U The railroad eventually spanned the entire state, boosting the population, and creating some of Wyoming's largest cities, such as Laramie, Rock Springs and Evanston. Laramie is a city in and the County seat of Albany County in the U Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. Evanston is a city in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 11507 at the 2000 census. Along with the railroad came the need for coal, which was discovered in quantity in the southwestern part of the state, especially around Rock Springs. Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. In 1885, a violent riot known as the Rock Springs Massacre broke out between white and Chinese miners employed by the Union Pacific Coal Company in Rock Springs. The Rock Springs massacre (also known as the Rock Springs riot) occurred on September 2 1885 in the present-day United States (U The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the People's Republic of China (including Hong The Union Pacific Coal Company was formed in 1874 as the Union Pacific Coal Department by the Union Pacific Railway Company.

Statehood

After the arrival of the railroad, the population began to grow steadily in the Wyoming Territory, which was established on July 25, 1868. The Territory of Wyoming was an organized territory of the United States that existed from 1868 until its admission to the Union as the State of Wyoming Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap ^[2] Unlike Colorado to the south, Wyoming never experienced a rapid population boom in the 19th century from any major mineral discoveries such as gold or silver. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen

Wyoming was admitted to the Union on July 10, 1890. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It was named after the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, made famous by the 1809 poem Gertrude of Wyoming by Thomas Campbell. This article refers to the valley region in Pennsylvania A lesser-known Wyoming Valley exists in western New York in Wyoming County, where the valley of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Thomas Campbell ( July 27, 1777 - June 15, 1844) was a Scottish Poet chiefly remembered for his sentimental poetry dealing The name Wyoming is derived from the Delaware (Munsee) name xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat", originally applied to the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages, are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian This article refers to the valley region in Pennsylvania A lesser-known Wyoming Valley exists in western New York in Wyoming County, where the valley of ^[3] The name was suggested by Representative J. M. Ashley of Ohio. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads

Suffrage

In 1869, Wyoming extended much suffrage to women, at least partially in an attempt to garner enough votes to be admitted as a state. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally In addition to being the first U. S. state to extend suffrage to women, Wyoming was also the home of many other firsts for U. S. women in politics. For the first time, women served on a jury in Wyoming (Laramie in 1870). Wyoming had the first female court bailiff (Mary Atkinson, Laramie, in 1870) and the first female justice of the peace in the country (Esther Hobart Morris, South Pass City, in 1870). Wyoming became the first state in the Union to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was elected in 1924 and took office in January 1925. Nellie Tayloe Ross ( November 29, 1876 – December 19, 1977) was an American Politician, the Governor of

Wildland Preservation

The Hayden expedition in Wyoming as photographed by William Henry Jackson

Following on the reports of men like Colter and Bridger, a number of organized expeditions were undertaken in northwestern Wyoming. See Honoré Jackson for the Canadian revolutionary William Henry Jackson ( April 4[[ 843]] - June 30[[ 942]] was an American The Folsom Expedition in 1869 and the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition in 1870 confirmed the stories of the mountain men. The Folsom Expedition of 1869 was the first organized expedition to explore the region that became Yellowstone National Park. The Washburn Expedition of 1870 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park. In 1871, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden lead a formal survey of the area, the result of which ultimately convinced Congress to set aside the region. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Dr Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden ( September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American Geologist noted for his pioneering Yellowstone National Park became the world's first National Park in 1872. A national park is a reserve of land usually declared and owned by a national Government, protected from most Human development and pollution Most of the territory that comprises Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming. Wyoming is also home to the nation's first national monument (Devils Tower created in 1906)), and the first national forest (Shoshone National Forest created in 1891). A National Monument in the United States is a Protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States Devils Tower ( Lakota: Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Tower” is a Monolithic igneous Intrusion or Volcanic "National forest" redirects here for the National Forest in England see National Forest England; for those in Brazil see List of Brazilian National Forests Shoshone National Forest () is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2

Settlers

The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted many new farmers and ranchers to Wyoming, where they congregated along the fertile banks of the rivers. The' Homestead Act' was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title to 160 Acres (one quarter section or about 65 Hectares Most of the land in Wyoming in the 2nd half of the 19th century was in the public domain and so was open for both homesteading and open range for grazing cattle. As individual ranchers moved into the state, they became at odds with the larger ranches for control of the range and water sources. Tensions rose to a boiling point in April 1892 as an armed conflict known as the Johnson County War, fought between the large cattle operators and smaller ranchers and homesteaders. The Johnson County War also known as the War on Powder River or Wyoming Civil War, was a Range war which took place in Johnson County Wyoming The increased number of settlers also brought with them merchants, as well as outlaws. A number of notable outlaws of the time started their careers in Wyoming, including Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh, both of whom were incarcerated in Wyoming as young men^[4]. Butch Cassidy ( 13 April 1866 – circa November 1908 born Robert LeRoy Parker, was a notorious train robber Bank robber Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (1867 - c November 1908? sometimes spelled Longbaugh, born in Mont Clare Pennsylvania, also known as The Sundance Kid, An remote area in Johnson County, Wyoming known as the Hole-in-the-Wall was a well known hideout for a loose association of outlaw gangs known as the Hole in the Wall Gang. Johnson County is a County located in the north central of the U Hole-in-the-Wall is a remote hideout located in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County in northern Wyoming. Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, was the name given to a gang in the American Wild West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in It was used from the 1860s through the early 20th century by outlaws operating throughout Wyoming.

Mining

See Also

• List of Wyoming counties
• Emigrant Trail in Wyoming

References