This Week In History: July 10, 1890 Wyoming Becomes A State

The state of Wyoming has had a fragmented history because of the way its lands were acquired by the US

. Three of the country's territorial acquisitions, the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Country and the Mexican Cession, all intersected at the spot that would eventually become the forty-fourth state.

Various segments of the land that eventually made up the state of Wyoming previously had been claimed by the countries of France, Great Britain, Mexico, Spain and Texas. It was also the home of numerous groups of American Indians that included, among others, the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota and Shoshone-and different regions within the Territory of Wyoming had at different times been associated with Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

French trappers left traces of their presence on parts of the state in some of the names that survive, such as La Ramie. The incredible wonders of Yellowstone were first described by John Colter, a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, in 1807-and no one believed them to be real. The southwest part of the state had once belonged to the Spanish Empire and then became part of the Mexican state known as Alta California, but was ceded to the US in 1848-not, however, before part of it had been claimed by the Republic of Texas and later was split, with the Utah Territory claiming a section. The chunk of the state east of the Continental Divide at one point belonged to the Nebraska Territory.

The northeast part of the state was originally considered part of the Dakota Territory. And the part of the state west of the Continental Divide and north of the 42nd parallel started out as part of the Oregon Country, later the Oregon Territory. But when Oregon became a state, that portion of its land became part of the Washington Territory. To further complicate matters, the Idaho Territory claimed it as well.

Cowboys would later trail herds through the region via the Oregon Trail, a route originally taken by explorer Robert Stuart and his five companions, whose expedition discovered South Pass. And the Union Pacific Railroad took advantage of Bridger Pass, discovered by Jim Bridger in 1850; the pass is still used today by Interstate 80.

The Territory of Wyoming was created by an act of Congress on July 25, 1868. While still a territory, Wyoming gave its women the right to vote-and thus became the first state to grant women suffrage. Women also had a place in territorial and, later, state politics and served on juries, and the territory boasted the first female bailiff and justice of the peace.

With such a complicated genealogy, one might think that Wyoming's history is rife with wars between nations and territorial battles among states. But the main conflict Wyoming is known for is the Johnson County War of 1892, two years after it had become a state. Also known as the War on Powder River, it pitted large ranchers against small, with the big outfits bringing in hired gunslingers and their agents lynching some of the smaller ranchers amid allegations of rustling-and a sheriff's posse complicating the matter, riding out against the gunslingers. Eventually the US Cavalry was obliged to step in to end the conflict. The battle was depicted in the film Heaven's Gate, as well as in numerous other movies, TV shows, and books.

by: Lee Barwood

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