Towns in Fremont County - Past and Present
Altasee Hudson AndersonDiscontinued post office named for Laura Anderson ArapahoThe post office was established in 1880 by Indian Service and named for the tribe of John Burnet who served as the postmaster. Arapaho is also a train station. Atlantic CityAtlantic City was founded in 1868 by gold miners from South Pass City. In the 1870's, Atlantic City's population was more than 2,000. At that time, it had an opera house and the first beer garden and brewery in Wyoming. It was here that Willie's Company of Mormons perished in a blizzard in 1857. BonnevilleThe Bonneville past office and railroad station was named for Captain B. L. E. Bonneville who lead the first wagons through South Pass in 1832. BrownsvilleDiscontinued post office named for James Brown Lysite
(RIVERTON
RANGER-50YR-1956)
LYSITE-STOCK TOWN FROM THE BEGINNING On a small hill overlooking the
town he founded and loved so well, is the grave of David Schoening, pioneer of
the early days of eastern Fremont county, a man with his eyes forever toward the
future.
Hoping to start a town after the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad
started construction through that area. Mr. Schoening sent out word that he
would give from his vast holdings, each woman in the surroundings territory, one
lot of ground on which to build a home. He gave the railroad land for a
right-of-way, he set aside land for a school house; and as people began taking
advantage of his generous offers, the town of Lysite was established, in about
the year 1913.
Lysite, with a population of about 75 people, was and is essentially a
stockmen and ranchers town. It has for many years been the center of fall
shipping activities, when cattle and sheep ranchers drive their stock in from
summer ranges for the railroad journey to the markets in Omaha and points east.
In 1914 when Lysite was still an infant town, the first full-fledged
passenger train made its first run through, and among its first passengers were
Floyd Logan and his bride, the former Minnie Swaim, returning from their wedding
in Casper.
That same year Sidney Willoughby decided Lysite was a good location for
his hotel business, so the attempt was made to move the old Willoughby Hotel
from Lost Cabin to the new town. Troubles arose when the whole building
collapsed as they crossed Badwater Creek at the site of Old Lost Cabin. It took
a lot to daunt those hardy pioneers; Mr. Willoughby razed the remains, and used
the lumber over again in the new establishment in Lysite, where it stood in
active use for many years.
Among the earliest residents of Lysite are some who still live there; Mrs.
Ed Knapp, a niece of Mr. Schoening, whose husband owned a large sheep outfit for
many years; Mrs. Frank Philip, whose husband also was a sheep rancher; Mr. and
Mrs. W. I. Lewis, Frank Pfaff, Mr. and Mrs. Don Robson, Floyd and Belle Root
Logan. In Lost Cabin and nearby communities are others; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rate, Douglas Fuller, Sr., Leonard and Myrtle Bader Lybyer; some members of the family of William Ramage, long time stock raiser; Harold Day, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Day; Mrs. Edna Woolf Allen; the William Hendry family; Harry Gourley; names of many of these people will go down as makers of history. Wind River Indian ReservationThe Wind River Indian Reservation is the only Indian reservation in Wyoming. The headquarters are at Fort Washakie. The land was allotted to Shoshones by the treaty of 1868, signed at Fort Bridger. The government bargained with Chief Washakie to get him and his Indians out of Bridger Valley so the railroad could come through. In 1878 the United States government broke this treaty with a faithful and friendly Indian, Chief Washakie, and moved Arapaho onto the Shoshone Indian reservation. These two tribes were traditional enemies and neither tribe was happy about the situation. Washakie gave his consent for the Arapaho to stay the winter of 1878-79 only but the government never moved them off. Eventually the Shoshones brought suit against the government for giving their land away and received more than $4,000,000 in damages. In 1896, a section of the reservation (55,000 acres) was ceded by the Shoshones to the government. This tract included the Thermopolis and Hot Springs area and the land of the Riverton Project. The reservation now contains about 2,000,000 acres. More than 2,000 Arapaho live on the eastern part and more than 1,500 Shoshone live on the western part. More about: Go to the Wind River Project - Part of the USGenWeb project. Bad Medicine Butte Diamond G Ranch, Fort Augur, Ft. Thompson, Ft. Stambaugh
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