Casper in Natrona County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Ranching in Wyoming
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 17, 2015
1. Ranching in Wyoming Marker
Inscription.
Ranching in Wyoming. . From Wyoming's very beginnings and with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, the livestock industry was anticipated to secure a viable ecumenic base for the new territory. Most of the territory consisted of rangeland where buffalo heard has lived for centuries on the vast prairies. By the late 1870's these grass-eating animals had been slaughtered close to extinction. The vast stretches of prairie were now open for cattle and sheep ranching operations. With eastern and foreign investors supplying the money and the railroads providing transportation for the eastern market, only the labor to work the cattle was needed. That labor was supplied by the cowboy. Since the dawn of the American cowboy, 20th century literature, music, and arts has helped make the cowboy an American folk hero. , Although the cowboy often receives more attention, the sheep industry has been a part of Wyoming history since territorial days. Following the cattleman's lead, vast numbers of sheep began competing with cattle for the valuable range land. This competition for the open range between cattlemen and sheepmen erupted with violence by the turn of the century. This conflict continued until the range wars stopped in 1909. The state's leading industry by 1908-1910 was wool production. Today cattle and sheep graze side by side on many ranches in Wyoming, and the conflict between cattlemen and sheepmen is only a remembrance of Wyoming's frontier past.
From Wyoming's very beginnings and with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, the livestock industry was anticipated to secure a viable ecumenic base for the new territory. Most of the territory consisted of rangeland where buffalo heard has lived for centuries on the vast prairies. By the late 1870's these grass-eating animals had been slaughtered close to extinction. The vast stretches of prairie were now open for cattle and sheep ranching operations. With eastern and foreign investors supplying the money and the railroads providing transportation for the eastern market, only the labor to work the cattle was needed. That labor was supplied by the cowboy. Since the dawn of the American cowboy, 20th century literature, music, and arts has helped make the cowboy an American folk hero.
Although the cowboy often receives more attention, the sheep industry has been a part of Wyoming history since territorial days. Following the cattleman's lead, vast numbers of sheep began competing with cattle for the valuable range land. This competition for the open range between cattlemen and sheepmen erupted with violence by the turn of the century. This conflict continued until the range wars stopped in 1909. The state's leading industry by 1908-1910 was wool production. Today cattle and sheep graze side by side on many ranches
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in Wyoming, and the conflict between cattlemen and sheepmen is only a remembrance of Wyoming's frontier past.
Location. 42° 50.172′ N, 106° 22.326′ W. Marker is in Casper, Wyoming, in Natrona County. Marker can be reached from Fort Caspar Road, 0.1 miles west of Wyoming Route 258, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4001 Fort Caspar Road, Casper WY 82604, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. This marker is part of the Wyoming history walk in Centennial Park, which is adjacent to the Fort Caspar Museum and shares
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 17, 2015
2. Markers on the Wyoming History Walk in Centennial Park
the parking lot.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 25, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 409 times since then and 14 times this year. Last updated on January 12, 2021, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 25, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.