The Shoshone-Episcopal Mission Boarding School

The Shoshone-Episcopal Mission Boarding School. . This school was founded by the Reverend John Roberts. Born in Wales, in 1853, Roberts was for 66 years a missionary to the Shoshones. , "Our hope is in the children and the young people, the old people can't hear!" So spoke Washakie, Chief of Shoshones, when, in 1889, he gave this land -- 60 acres of hallowed Shoshone ground, traditional place of solemn assembly and religious ceremony -- to his friend the "White Robe", the Reverend Mr. Roberts. Thus the unlettered warrior-statesman, nearing the end of a long life and heavy labors, bequeathed a share of his burdens to an Oxford educated ecclesiastic who, throughout a similarly long lifetime, would similarly labor to lighten the problems of people experiencing transition. , To that end the missionary established his school. Its cornerstone was laid in 1890 and, despite wilderness handicaps, the Georgian building was completed within a year. Here, on soil consecrated by former tribal rituals, Shoshone girls learned a Christian catechism. To their teacher's credit, new knowledge was imparted without disparagement of old beliefs. , Washakie, approaching his centenarian year and having studied the "White Robe's" procedure, submitted to baptism on January 25, 1897. Honored and respected, the Reverend John Roberts D.D., L.L.D. retired from office following 40 years of service. But only death, coming in 1949 in his 96th year, could end his work. , This school, largely self-supporting through revenues from its farm lands, was in session 55 years. It closed in 1945. . This historical marker was erected by Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites. It is Near Fort Washakie in Fremont County Wyoming