Meeteetse in Park County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Arland
1884 - - 1897
— Wyoming —
A few miles up Meeteetse Creek from here, stood one of the toughest settlements of Wyoming’s frontier history. The town was founded in the spring of 1884 by Victor Arland, a French businessman, and John Corbett, a buffalo hunter. From 1880 to 1884, the men were partners in a trading post on Trail Creek and another on Cottonwood Creek, just north of Cody, Wyoming. They moved to Meeteetse Creek to be in the center of cattle country and the development ranches.
“Arland” soon had a store, saloon, restaurant, U.S. Post Office, a two story hotel, blacksmith shop, red light district, coal mine, livery stables, residential cabins, and corrals. A mail and passenger stage ran weekly through Arland, helping the town to become a trade center for the area ranches and a mecca for the cowboys and other tough characters of the region. The nearest law was 150 miles away in Lander, Wyoming.
On February 22, 1888, Vic Arland shot and killed Broken Nose Jackson in self defense at a dance in Arland. Jackson’s friend, Bill Landon, shot and killed Vic Arland in revenge, at Dunivan’s Saloon in Red Lodge, Montana, on April 24, 1890. After Vic’s death Arland degenerated into a hang-out for the outlaw element. There were names such as Black Jack Miller, John Bliss, Al Durant, Butch Cassidy, W.A. Gallagher, Blind Bill Hoolihan, Ed Nye, Rose Williams, Sage Brush Nancy, and Belle Drewry, known as the “Woman in Blue”. Most of the above, and others, died entangled in a web of lawlessness, romance, intrigue, and murder.
By 1896, the nearby town of Meeteetse had sprung up and by 1897 Arland had died. Today, nothing remains of old Arland but the stories and ghosts of days gone by.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1862.
Location. 44° 11.454′ N, 108° 52.284′ W. Marker is in Meeteetse, Wyoming, in Park County. Marker is on State Highway 120, 0.8 miles north of Shirley Drive, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Meeteetse WY 82433, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 16 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Amelia Earhart (approx. 2.1 miles away); First National Bank of Meeteetse (approx. 2.3 miles away); Site of Halfway House Stage Stop (approx. 9.2 miles away); The Building of an Industry (approx. 15.8 miles away); The Prairie Rattlesnake (approx. 15.8 miles away).
More about this marker. A photograph of the Woman in Blue standing in front of the Arland Saloon appears on the left of the marker. A photograph on the right of the marker depicts horses tied in front of another Arland building.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 23, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 949 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 23, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.