Pioneers of Outlaw Country: Wyoming History
Pioneers of Outlaw Country: Wyoming History dives deep into the rugged, untamed spirit of Wyoming's rich history. Many of these stories have been forgotten and the pioneers are relatively unknown. Join us for a journey back into time that is fun for the entire family and students of any age! This podcast series has been supported by our partners; the Hot Springs County Pioneer Association, the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the Wyoming Humanities, and the Wyoming Office of Transportation.
Episodes
A gold rush in the Copper Mountains of Wyoming brought 2,000 miners into the area in 1906. By 1909, nearly everyone was gone. For just a brief moment in time, hopes of a rich strike even excited Wyoming Governor Brooks who boasted of the future success of Birdseye.
But when the lead ran dry, the dreams turned to dust, and the camp faded into legend.
Join us as we explore the untold stories of the souls who worked and...
The Bighorn River is a dangerous river in the Bighorn Basin and has claimed numerous lives in its depths.
Lives were lost when high water would sweep away entire families. The ferries made crossing the dangerous Bighorn River safer - but even these ferries were perilous and dangerous.
These stories and more are featured in this special podcast as part of the tales along the Yellowstone Highway explaining the dangers ...
Welcome to a special edition of Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Today you are in for a treat. Grab your popcorn as we dive into an old-time radio show.
As I was researching the stage routes of Wyoming, my internet searches kept directing me to the movie, Stagecoach. I admit I was a bit annoyed but then my curiosity got the best of me. I finally listened to the radio dramatization of the movie - when I should have been re...
Wrecks, highway robbery and rockslides awaited the stage coaches that dared venture over Birds Eye Pass. This dangerous stage line route was full of peril but despite the risks, the stage coach ran every day, except Sunday.
Join us for a ride on this perilous route over the Wind River Canyon in Central Wyoming. There was no train or highway - only the rugged trail through Copper Mountain.
This special edition of Pione...
When the mountain man brought the first mischievous mule into Wyoming he was unaware of the importance this stubborn, irritating critter would play in building the state.
As we continue celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Yellowstone Highway through the Wind River Canyon, it would be a shame to overlook one of the hardest workers that helped bring in the modern age.
In between kicking up its he...
16 skeletons, over an 80 year time span, were found along the banks of the Badwater Creek.
Who were they and who murdered these people while Wyoming was still only a territory?
Their stories were buried in old newspapers and were mysteries dating back to 1872.
Three were found in a cave with bullet holes, twelve were soldiers found in an Aspen grove and the last was found in a burnt grave with five arrow heads.
These ...
Journey with us through the rich and adventurous history of the Yellowstone Highway through the Wind River Canyon, now a scenic by-way. From its rugged landscapes to the tales etched into its cliffs, this byway has seen it all.
We kick off with the Gold Rush era, exploring how the promise of fortune drew eager prospectors into the canyon, igniting a frenzy that transformed the region. As gold seekers braved the treache...
Sheriff Virgil Rice was tough-as-nails and respected throughout Wyoming. He was known to "get his man" and tracked down horse thieves across the Cowboy State in the 1890's.
It is believed by residents and historians that he was one of many cowboys that helped inspire America's most beloved cowboy heroes, the Virginian.
When You Call Me That – Smile!
It was now the Virginian&apo...
The strike of a rattlesnake, the danger of stampede, the whistling of cowboys, the swish of a lasso and the sting of the hot sun.
The cowboys on round-up are a true pioneer of Wyoming.
Welcome to another episode of "Pioneers of Outlaw Country," where we delve into fascinating stories from Wyoming’s past that often go unnoticed. I am your host, Jackie Dorothy, and today we are traveling on a round-up with on...
The Harvard student of law bent over his journal, writing in camp light and by kerosene. He was capturing the words that he would one day use to write the most popular Western fiction in the world.
In 1885, a young tourist arrived in Wyoming and went by stage to Medicine Bow. He was a 24 year old Owen Wister who faithfully recorded in his journal all that he saw - and he wasn't very impressed! Years later, thes...
When we think of the early visitors of Wyoming, we think of the cowboys, homesteaders, miners and others coming to the West to make their fortune. There was another group of young men who came west on the trains and stagecoaches. These were young, rich men looking for an adventure and relaxation. They were not in Wyoming to find their fortune but here to vacation.
Among these young tourists was a Harvard stud...
The faded pencil script spelled out rough poems, descriptions of sunsets and hangings, saloon scenes, cowboy tall tales, the wide-open prairie and the sharp retort of the gun.
From Owen Wister’s pen, the cowboy myth was born and became a true relic of Wyoming’s rich past.
For over 65 years, Owen Wister's journals lay forgotten - until a stubborn librarian from the University of Wyoming insisted they ex...
The most famous cowboy prank in Wyoming... may never have happened.
Or did it?
In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister tells of a baby swapping prank that happened at a rural dance. It was common practice in those days to pile the babies under chairs and tables to sleep while the parents danced the night away. According to Wister, two cowboys took advantage of this situation to pull a legendary ...
When Owen Wister brought his family to Wyoming in 1912, they brought along a special friend: Peeshee, the waltzing mouse. The inclusion of this tiny tourist in their family gives us insight into the Wister family dynamics and their love of nature in all forms.
The Waltzing Mouse, once as common as goldfish as pets for children, was a puzzle to the scientists who studied them. These tiny creatures would whirl ...
"Young man, go west!"
Among the cowboys and frontiersmen, miners and homesteaders were a group of young adventurers - the rich young tenderfoot. These tourists were not seeking their fortunes but were tourists, looking to get away from the confines of civilization even briefly.
One of these young men took his journals and turned them into fiction, becoming one of the best-selling authors i...
In 1902, the most popular book in America was The Virginian by Owen Wister. This book changed America's perspective on the cowboy and turned the once maligned cowhand into a romantic hero.
Told at times through the eyes of the Tenderfoot, this is a story of a courageous but mysterious cowboy known only as “the Virginian”. He works as foreman of a cattle ranch in the Wyoming territory during the1880s and...
In 1903, Tom O'Day was villainized in the newspapers as a notorious horse thief but his friends and acquaintances defended him as a cheerful Irishman who may embellish a brand once in awhile. That February he was unarmed when, suddenly, he was in the fight of his life.
Join us on this exciting escapade of one of Wyoming's most beloved outlaws, Tom O'Day!
Thank you for listening to H...
Happy New Year! What better way to celebrate than to travel back in time to 1884 in the Wyoming Territory.
Warning... Sprinkled in with the 1884 New Years predictions are superstitions and even an old-fashioned romance. We are celebrating the 1884 New Year just as residents did that same year and reading through the Cheyenne Daily Sun after staying up to bring in the New Year!
1883 had been a time...
They were daring adventurers, forgers of a new life, homesteaders …. and forgotten to history. These vanished people were true pioneers of Hot Springs County, Wyoming.
The Pioneers of Outlaw Country.
Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming.
Here are their stories.
The Lost Owl Creek Colony
Many, many years ago, strangers came...
He was the founder of Thermopolis, well-respected businessman and cattleman, a dashing bachelor, expert horseman and a murderer.
This cattleman and businessman was a true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming.
The Pioneers of Outlaw Country.
Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming.
Here are their stories.
Ben Hanson, The Murder of T...
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