History & News

Green River High School hosts museum program

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Photo #1 - Sophomores got a chance to handle a powder horn, pelts, a bow and arrow, antlers, a beaver trap, and other period-authentic items during Aidan Brady’s mountain man-fur trade presentation at the Green River High School. Famed mountain man Jim Bridger, pictured here, founded a trading post at Fort Bridger in 1843.     

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - April 26, 2023)    In presentations throughout the day for 135 students attending the Green River High School’s sophomore Wyoming History class, mountain men and the fur trade were the topics of a recent Sweetwater County Historical Museum program.

The mountain man era of the early to mid 19^th century was an important one in Wyoming and Sweetwater County history. There was heavy demand for beaver pelts in the east and Europe to provide felt for men’s hats. Public Engagement Coordinator Aidan Brady described how every year, from 1825 to 1840, at different locations in Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho, mountain men, trappers, and Native Americans gathered at rendezvous to sell their furs, trade for supplies, and celebrate. The first rendezvous, in 1825, was staged on Henry’s Fork, three miles northeast of Burntfork and about 40 miles southwest of Green River in what is now Sweetwater County.

The most famous mountain men included Kit Carson, John Colter, Jedediah Smith, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Joseph Walker, and Jim Bridger, who established the trading post named for him in what became Uinta County, Wyoming, in 1843, now a Wyoming state historic site. Bridger was among the greatest of American frontiersman, and at least a dozen major landmarks in the west now bear his name.

Educators, parents, and parent-teacher groups who are interested in learning more about museum programs for students Grades K - 12 are encouraged to contact Brady at (307) 872-6435 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

New 3rd grade social studies curriculum brings Sweetwater County history to life

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Photo #1 - History of Sweetwater County, Wyoming - the student’s workbook and teacher’s guide

Photo #2 - Public Engagement Coordinator Aidan Brady of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum with Sage Elementary teachers Sandi Lininger, center, and Marty Albert, right, and their pilot textbooks

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - April 17, 2023)     The Sweetwater County Museum Foundation and the Sweetwater County Historical Museum are partnering with County School Districts #1 and #2 to produce a social studies textbook on local history for 3rd grade students. The new work is titled History of Sweetwater County, Wyoming .

Teachers from both school districts received pilot textbooks this week for them to try out in their classrooms. The pilot textbooks cover Unit 1 of the local history curriculum, which includes dinosaurs, fossil fish, coal and trona, maps and map skills, and early humans in Sweetwater County. The final textbooks will consist of four units.

The project's curriculum encompasses a student workbook, teacher's guide, digital presentation, and learning kits designed to enhance student learning. Existing museum resources are also utilized, including education kits and YouTube videos.

The textbook project is being funded by the Sweetwater County Museum Foundation, a non-profit fundraising organization that publishes books and supports other museum activities. Textbooks are being produced by a committee consisting of museum staff, local teachers, and volunteer members of the Foundation Board.

Fay Quiroz, M.Ed.Educator and Museum Foundation Board Member, is particularly enthusiastic about the project. "Our team wanted to provide a viable third-grade curriculum that is standards-based, relevant, and incorporates a digital component, making this accessible to any educator and their classrooms in Sweetwater County. In addition, we wanted to develop a highly engaging curriculum that emphasizes our own unique history in Sweetwater County and the students’ role in shaping our identity today."

Museum Executive Director Dave Mead praised the collaboration that is making the program possible. “Museum staff, educators, and board members working together provide a unique, composite perspective of Sweetwater County history for our students,” he said recently. “This is an exciting project and we’re proud to be part of it.”

Utah students visit County Museum

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Photo #1 - The American Academy of Innovation’s John Wesley Powell research team after their museum visit on Wednesday

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - March 23, 2023)     The Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River hosted a visit on Wednesday from a group of middle-school students engaged in a special research project.

The ten 7^th and 8^th grade students from the American Academy of Innovation, a charter school in South Jordan, Utah, are studying John Wesley Powell’s epic 1,000-mile 1869 and 1871 expeditions down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through the Grand Canyon. They spent the afternoon examining the museum’s extensive series of Powell exhibits and listening to a presentation from Public Engagement Coordinator Aidan Brady.

Educators, parents, and parent-teacher groups who are interested in learning more about museum programs for students Grades K - 12 are encouraged to contact Brady at (307) 872-6435 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

County museum researches old west pocket pistol

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Photo #1 - The Remington-Smoot No. 2 revolver identified by the Sweetwater County Historical Museum

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - March 4, 2023)    A frontier-era pocket pistol was researched this week through the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s Vintage Firearms Research Program.

The research request came from a man living in London, Ontario, in Canada. Museum staff identified the handgun as a nickel-finished, single-action  Remington-Smoot No. 2 revolver, a five-shot chambered for the .30-caliber rimfire cartridge. (William Sydney Smoot, the No. 2's designer, received many firearms patents over the years. He served with the Union Army during the Civil War with the 1^st Maryland Infantry, and was later assigned as an ordnance officer at the Springfield Armory. He resigned his commission in 1870 and began work at Remington not long afterward.) Pocket pistols, including small revolvers like the Remington-Smoot and derringers, were highly popular. Though not powerful, they were light and readily concealed.

About 3,000 No. 2s were manufactured between 1877 and 1885.

People with a vintage firearm (or firearms) who would like to learn more about them are encouraged to contact the museum at (307) 872-6435 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. There is no charge for the  service.

The Sweetwater County Historical Museum is located at 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way in Green River. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and admission is free.