All posts by gliffen

Knadler & the Laramie Ice Houses

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Ice plants were essential to keep produce fresh as it traveled through the county, and some were built in Laramie. The Ice House in Laramie began down by the river and was bought by Knadler, a Fort Sanders soldier. The Union Pacific Railroad bought him out and built a bigger plant, which burned down and was replaced with a much larger ice plant uptown. A huge ice house was built over the years for the ease of handling ice and moving it on and off of trains.

After it was shut down, the town used this space for many activities.

Learn more about the Laramie Ice Houses.

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Nellis and Eleanor Corthell

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Nellis Eugene Corthell arrived in Laramie in 1881 from Franklinville, New York. He worked on ranches and studied law in the office of Col. Stephen W. Downey. Corthell was admitted to the bar in 1883.

From 1887-1888, Corthell served as the county’s prosecuting attorney at a time when Albany County extended north to the Montana line. He had an outstanding legal career for 50 years, including appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Locally, Corthell served on the Albany County Board of Commissioners, as county Democratic chairman, and on the Laramie school board. He was also president of the Pioneer Canal Company, a partner in a plaster mill, and owner of the Laramie Boomerang from 1890 to 1911.

His wife, Eleanor Quackenbush Corthell, came to Laramie in 1882 from Black River Falls, Wisconsin. She taught at the newly opened Rock Creek school 50 miles north of Laramie before transferring to the new west side school in Laramie.  Eleanor met the young law student at a social function and they married in 1885. Together, they reared seven children including Evelyn, Morris, Miriam, Gladys, Robin, Huron, and Irving.

Eleanor was active in numerous civic and community affairs. She was a charter member of the Laramie woman’s club in 1898 and active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, as well as the First Baptist Church Ladies Aid organization. For many years she collected good books, made portable shelves and supplied these books to rural schools. She organized the first West Laramie community club and a girl’s sewing club. Eleanor had a great love for the outdoors and natural beauty of Wyoming; in the summer of 1903 she departed in a wagon with her seven children for a two-month-long overland trip to Yellowstone. She chronicled their many adventures in a book she titled, A Family Trek to the Yellowstone.

The Corthell family lived at 815 Grand Avenue for 24 years before moving to a new farmstead on the Corthell farm in West Laramie. The liveliness of their children and numerous grandchildren filled both homes. The Corthells’ home on Grand (now occupied by their great-granddaughter), as well as the house and barn in West Laramie still stand today.

After Eleanor’s death in 1932, an article in the Laramie Daily Boomerang noted that “Mrs. Corthell’s life and that of her family are so closely interwoven with happenings here in Laramie that the story is an epitome of the town’s history for the last 50 years … she had been actively and helpfully associated with practically every movement that concerned the public welfare.”

Nellis Corthell died in 1938 after a long and brilliant career in law and civic affairs.

Photo and information courtesy of Ann Mullen Boelter, member of the family.

Learn more about Nellis and Eleanor Corthell.

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Trabing Commercial Company Store

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The Trabing Brothers’ Trabing Commercial Company Store was one of the first commercial enterprises in Laramie. Augustus J. Trabing and his brother Charles had opened other stores in Nebraska and Wyoming, but these operations either burned down or were robbed. In 1869, Augustus Trabing moved his headquarters to Laramie in the old Blue Front Theatre. It was a one-story wooden structure that Trabing painted a bright blue, hence the name Blue Front.

When he opened the Laramie Grocery Company at the corner of Garfield and South Second Street, the theatre was used as a warehouse. His retail and wholesale store was located at the corner of Garfield and South Second Street. Along with freighting and mercantile, the brothers engaging in stock growing.

Learn more about the Trabing Commercial Company Store.

Learn more about the fire that destroyed the store.

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Freund and Brothers Gun Shop

863-Exterior-of-Freund-&-Bro-Gun-Shop,-Laramie,-DT-1868-1-duraFreund and Brothers gun shop, located between First and Second Streets on what is now Ivinson Avenue, was one of the first wood-framed buildings in Laramie built in 1868. With the news of the railroad’s arrival, people rushed to claim property inside Laramie City. At first, theirs was a typical “tent city” running along the railroad route. Wood structures were built so quickly that Laramie was almost unrecognizable after just a few short months.

Learn more about Freund and Bros. gun shop and the history of the railroad in Wyoming.

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Patrick Doran and the Shamrock

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By the fall of 1867, Laramie was growing. The protection provided by Fort Sanders drew many people from all over, plus the businesses to serve them.

The first hotel built in Laramie was a long log cabin called the “Shamrock.” It was owned by Patrick Doran, who claimed to have walked west from Pine Bluffs, Wyoming (about 90 miles) with a group of friends. While his friends found work in the tie camps in the mountains, Doran opened the Shamrock – flop rooms in the back and meals in the front,  all served with Irish good cheer!

Learn more about Patrick Doran and the cultural impact of the Transcontinental Railroad.

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Dawson Brothers Building

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The Dawson Brothers building, located at 1869 South A. Street,  was the first substantial building to be built in Laramie. Built at a cost of $5,000, the Dawson Brothers building eventually becamse the the Kuster Hotel building, which served as a depot for the Ft. Collins and Walden Stage Line. Until the 1960s, it was also a depot for the Continental Trailways Bus Lines.

The building is now home to El Conquistador Mexican Restaurant and Sensuous She clothing store.

Learn more about the Dawson Brothers building.

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Dr. John Finfrock

853-Dr-FinfrockDr. John Finfrock was an Army physician serving at Fort Sanders in the late 1860s when the Union Pacific Railroad came through Laramie. The new venture of the railroad inspired Finfrock to muster out of the Army and take a new position with UPRR managing their hospital. Finfrock continued to practice medicine and later opened the Eagle Pharmacy in Laramie. He also served as mayor of Laramie in the late 1880s and was one of the original trustees of the University of Wyoming.

In 1870, Dr. Finfrock housed the first collection of books from the newly-formed Wyoming Library and Literary Association at his offices on South A Street. What began with more than 1,000 books eventually led to the founding of the Albany County Public Library system with support from the Carnegie Foundation.

Learn more about Dr. John Finfrock. 

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Laramie Philanthropists: Jane and Edward Ivinson

851-Ivinsons-DuraJane and Edward Ivinson were generous philanthropists dedicated to giving back to the Laramie community. (Photo courtesy of the Laramie Plains Museum.)

Dedicated Episcopalians, much of their generosity was directed toward the Episcopal Church in Laramie. Edward was the most generous local donor to the construction of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, which began in 1892. In 1916, he donated an additional $40,000 to complete the cathedral in his deceased wife’s name. Other gifts include a $50,000 contribution (equivalent to about $1 million today) and four city lots to construct Ivinson Memorial Hospital.

The Ivinsons led a lavish lifestyle that was often criticized, yet their legacy greatly benefitted Laramie and Albany County.

Learn more about the Ivinson legacy.

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