History & News

Unique photograph discovered at County Museum

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Photo #1 - Nine Chinese miners in Rock Springs on the eve of their return to China, June, 1925. They are identified in museum records as Leo Chung, Ah Sung, Sing Lee, Joe Bow, Yon Kwong, Ah Fan, Ah Chung, and Ah How. Taken in front of the “Joss House” in Rock Springs’s “Chinatown.”

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - May 31, 2024)     A rare photograph of Chinese miners about to return to China in 1925 was discovered recently in the archives of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. It was uncovered by volunteer Diane Butler, who has been digitizing the museum’s extensive photograph and negative collection.

The Transcontinental Railroad, which was completed in 1869, reached Rock Springs and Green River in 1868. It carried with it a tremendous demand for coal, which was readily available in the vast coal fields in and around Rock Springs. Mining commenced in earnest almost immediately, attracting miners from all over the world, including China.

By 1880, some 370 Chinese were working in Rock Springs - mostly in the Union Pacific Coal mines - and living in “Chinatown,” now the site of St. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church on Bridger Avenue, the old Washington School, and the Slovenski Dome.

The Chinese population in Rock Springs continued to grow, and racial tensions arose. On September 2, 1885, a mob of about 150 white coal miners attacked “Chinatown” and set it afire. Over two dozen Chinese workers were killed and the rest fled the area. All 79 of the Chinese shacks and shanties were looted and burned by the mob.

To restore order and protect the hundreds of Chinese miners soon to be returned to Rock Springs under heavy army escort, Territorial Governor (later United States Senator) Francis E. Warren arranged for soldiers of the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment to establish a base sited between “Chinatown” and downtown Rock Springs, which was designated Camp Pilot Butte. A new “Chinatown” was hastily built, the miners returned to work, and, by November 30, 532 Chinese and 85 white miners were producing about 1,600 tons of coal per day. Camp Pilot Butte continued to be garrisoned until March of 1899, when the post was closed.

By the turn of the 20^th century, the Chinese population in Rock Springs had begun a steady decline. By 1920, only 73 men and two women remained. In the middle and late 1920s, the Union Pacific Coal Company decided to pay fares to China for those workers past or nearing retirement age. At least 14 men received passage to Canton between 1925 and 1927. By 1929, Rock Springs’s “Chinatown” was no more.

County Museum hosting Wyoming rock art exhibit

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Photo No. 1 - Images of rock art from around Wyoming, including examples from the White Mountain Petroglyphs, will be on display at the special exhibit “Rock Art in Wyoming” at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum beginning Saturday, April 6.

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - April 4, 2024)     Beginning Saturday, April 6, the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River will host “Rock Art in Wyoming,” a special traveling exhibit featuring hand-drawn and carved images created in Wyoming's distant past.

For thousands of years, Plains and Great Basin Native American people and their ancestors left messages and designs on rocks. Many different styles and types of such rock art may be found throughout the state, including sites in Fremont, Hot Springs, Big Horn, Lincoln, and Sweetwater Counties. Sweetwater County is home to the White Mountain Petroglyphs, about 20 miles north of Rock Springs, which are featured prominently in the exhibit, along with images of rock art from the Castle Gardens, Legend Rock, Medicine Lodge, and Names Hill sites.

The museum is located at 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way in Green River. Hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Tuesday through Saturday. General admission to both the museum and “Rock Art in Wyoming” is free. 

Women’s History Month - Women War Workers at the Reliance Tipple

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Photo 1 - The Reliance Tipple in Sweetwater County, one of only two coal tipples still standing in Wyoming. The “boney pickers” at the Tipple in 1943 are, left to right, Annie Krek, Christine Cukale, Zabia Mangelos, and Sumiko Hattori.

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - March 26, 2024)     The Sweetwater County Historical Museum is continuing its celebration of Women’s History Month with a wonderful photo from World War II, when women entered the civilian workforce as millions of men were called to serve in the armed forces. The women in the photo are “boney pickers” on the job in 1943 at the Reliance Tipple.

Tipples were large structures used to sort and load coal. Coal was transported from the mines to the Tipple in four-ton capacity rail carts. When the carts arrived at the upper level of the Tipple, the coal was dumped into a chute by tipping the mine carts over – hence the name “tipple.” The coal passed down the chute and was sorted by size when it passed through heavy shakers and screens, then loaded onto train cars.

From Sweetwater Women, by Christine Alethea Williams and Brigida R. Blasi:

“Boney Pickers

“Because the Wyoming State Constitution barred women from working underground in coal mines until 1979, women were employed only above ground in Union Pacific mining occupations during World War II. Boney (slate) pickers worked in the tipple, separating waste rock from coal. They joined the United Mine Workers of America union and started working as pickers of slag, apprentice electricians, welders, and machinists in the shops.”

Sweetwater Women profiles over 100 women with important places in Sweetwater County history. It’s available at the County Museum’s bookstore and on Amazon.

Women’s History Month - County Museum profiles Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman governor in American history

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Photo #1 - Nellie Tayloe Ross often visited Sweetwater County. She is shown here at the Taliaferro home in Rock Springs, circa 1935. The couch on which she is seated, still in the possession of the Taliaferro family, was made in 1832.

(Sweetwater County, Wyo. - March 19, 2024)     March is Women’s History Month, and the Sweetwater County Historical Museum is recognizing one of the most groundbreaking women in Wyoming history - Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman governor in the United States.

Nellie Ross was born in Missouri in 1876. She became a kindergarten teacher and married lawyer William Bradford Ross in 1902. Later, the Rosses moved to Cheyenne, where Ross established a law practice and served as Laramie County’s prosecuting attorney. He became involved in politics and was elected Governor of Wyoming in 1922. In 1924, after complications following an appendectomy, William Ross died.

Though she at first resisted calls for her to run for Governor in 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross, a Democrat, relented at the last minute and won handily. She served as Governor until she was narrowly defeated in the 1926 election; many believe her defeat was due to her strong support for Prohibition and her refusal to campaign for herself.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Ross Secretary of the Treasury, the first woman to hold that position. She went on to serve in that post for 20 years, under Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. She retired in 1953, traveled extensively, and wrote articles for a range of women’s magazines. Nellie Tayloe Ross died in 1976, age 101, and is buried at the Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.