HISTORICAL SOCIETY
After several years of inactivity, the local historical society has renewed their Charter with the WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY and is planning exciting activities for the upcoming year. A meeting was held at the Johnson County Library in Buffalo and Officers were elected. A group carpooled from Buffalo to Kaycee and toured THE HOOFPRINTS OF THE PAST MUSEUM as their first gathering. Patty Myers and Sylvia Bruner attended the State Society meeting representing the newly established Society. Anyone wishing to join or receive more information are encourage to contact Patty Myers at 307-684-9381 Sylvia Bruner at the GATCHELL MUSEUM 307-684-9331 or Connie or Nancy at the Johnson County Library 307-684-5546.
The local Society was established in the early 1920s before there was a State Society. It flourished for many years and then became dormant. After Jim Gatchell's death in 1954, the idea of a local Museum to display and care for his extensive collection provided the push to reconvene the local Society to serve as the primary support group for the proposed venture. On August 16, 1954 an organizational meeting was held in the Johnson County Courthouse and the first meeting of the group was held on August 10, 1954, and there were 57 people present, representing 29 local organizations. Plans were formulated to assist in raising the funds and following the necessary procedures to build the museum.
In the following years, many interesting programs were presented. And for many years the group hosted an annual trek to county historical sites, with guides and speakers. In the 1980s the group published booklets on the Cattle War and the Forts of the county, Both were written by Patty Myers and illustrated by Judy Sutherland. In 1992, the local group hosted over 200 people for a 3 day weekend, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cattle War. A symposium was held on Friday at the county High School auditorium. The group, with guides, traveled to some of the related sites by bus on Saturday. A light brunch was served at the Harold Jarrard Park in Kaycee, with introductions and brief remarks. The buses returned to the TA Ranch where they toured the battle site and enjoyed lunch under the towering cottonwoods in the shadow of the TA barn, complete with bullet holes! The buses returned to Buffalo, stopping at Willow Grove Cemetery at the graves of Nate Champion and Nick Ray. Then on to the Veterans Home of Wyoming-formerly Fort McKinney, which was home to the troops who went out to "end" the war at the TA. A banquet was held that night at the CROSSROADS INN. The local Society had published a bibliography to be sold at the trek. WITH WINCHESTERS AND DETERMINED HEARTS contained over 350 entries of material which has been written regarding the incident in 1892. One of the last projects for the Society was to host the State Society's annual Convention. This was held under the direction of Pres. Robert Springer in the late 1990s.
Membership in the Historical Society provides you with the quarterly publication of the State Society, ANNALS OF WYOMING, featuring articles of historical interest as well as book reviews. Local meetings are a good way to learn about the history of our area. Please consider joining. Watch for notices in the BUFFALO BULLETIN. Meetings are free and open to the public, membership is encouraged but NOT required. See you there!
