There’s nothing worse than buying a ticket for a fake lottery! In 1875, a man named William Pattee began a phony lottery-by-mail operation aptly named the “Wyoming Lottery.” Everybody loved it…but nobody won! After Congress made it a felony to swindle the public through the United States mail, Pattee came up with new schemes. The Laramie Sentinel’seditor … Continue reading Lottery Pattee
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There’s nothing worse than buying a ticket for a fake lottery! In 1875, a man named William Pattee began a phony lottery-by-mail operation aptly named the “Wyoming Lottery.” Everybody loved it…but nobody won! After Congress made it a felony to swindle the public through the United States mail, Pattee came up with new schemes. The Laramie Sentinel’seditor … Continue reading Lottery Ticket
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Train robbers –possibly Butch Cassidy and his “Wild Bunch” –boarded an Overland Flyer train near Wilcox, Wyoming, blew up this safe and escaped with thousands of dollars! The Wilcox train robbery occurred at 1:00 a.m. on June 2, 1899, near Wilcox, Wyoming, outside of Laramie. Masked men boarded the Overland Flyer, forced it to a … Continue reading Wilcox Train Robbery Baggage Car & Safe
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Elmer Lovejoy of Laramie invented and manufactured the automatic garage door opener for several years. Elmer Lovejoy was a Laramie inventor and bicycle advocate whose inventions may be something you use even now. Not only did he build bicycles in the late 1800s, he also invented the “steering knuckle,” which is still used in cars today. … Continue reading Elmer Lovejoy – Inventor Extraordinaire!
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Charlie Bristol & Sister Sadie after a bicycle trip to Laramie. When man first invented the wheel, who could have imagined he would have so much fun on two of them? With the advent of the bicycle, people in Laramie loved the new form of transportation to travel through the flat terrain of the city. … Continue reading Bicycling in Laramie
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Marilyn Kite horseback riding with friends in the Teton Mountain Range (Kite is fourth one in from left). Marilyn S. Kite of Jackson, Wyoming was the first woman to serve on the Wyoming Supreme Court and as its chief justice. Appointed by Republic Governor Jim Geringer, she was sworn into office in to become the … Continue reading Marilyn Kite Horseback Riding
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Con Wager, Asa Moore & Ned Wilson were lynched in 1868 by the “Committee of Vigilance.” The three had intimidated many ranchers to sign over the deeds to their ranches. Asa “Ace” Moore, Con Wagner (a.k.a. Con Moore), and an individual known as “Big Ned” or “Big Ed” Bernard were hanged in 1868 for their … Continue reading Lynching of Con Wager, Asa Moore & Ned Wilson
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Officials survey the damage to an Overland Flyer train car caused by an explosion that allowed train robbers to escape with $30,000. The Wilcox train robbery occurred at 1:00 a.m. on June 2, 1899, near Wilcox, Wyoming, outside of Laramie. Masked men boarded the Overland Flyer, forced it to a halt and ordered the attendant … Continue reading Wilcox Train Robbery
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John “Liver-Eating” Johnson was a mountain man of the American Old West. Legend has it that he would cut out and eat the liver of each man he killed. Johnson served in the Mexican-American War and then set out to strike gold in Montana Territory. The story goes that in 1847, a Crow brave and … Continue reading Liver Eating Johnson
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Typical trade knives used by the trappers were inexpensive to buy and were made with some of the best steel of the day, namely from the Sheffield area of England. Trappers used knives for everything from skinning a beaver or buffalo, to eating, to cutting hides for clothing and even doing some surgery on a … Continue reading Trapper Knives
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