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Catholic Cowboy

Today In Wyoming's History: February 28

Today In Wyoming's History: February 28: 1918  First train to arrive in Buffalo on the Wyoming Railway.

The Wyoming Railway was a shortline, running from nearby Clearmont to Buffalo, a distance of about 28 miles. At Clearmont passengers could carry on with the Burlington Northern.

Most of the traffic on the line was actually coal.  The coal mines near Buffalo went out of business in the 1940s and the railroad filed for bankruptcy in 1948.  The line was abandoned in 1952.

Monday at the Bar: Courthouses of the West: Johnson County Justice Center, Buffalo Wyoming

Courthouses of the West: Johnson County Justice Center, Buffalo Wyoming:

This is the Johnson County Justice Center in Buffalo Wyoming. This structure replaced the old Johnson County Courthouse that was in use up until recently.

I'm sure it was needed, but the old building had more charm.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: Grace Fellowship, Buffalo Wyoming

Churches of the West: Grace Fellowship, Buffalo Wyoming:

Interesting architecture which appears to lean on some Byzantine elements, located in Buffalo Wyoming

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: First United Methodist Church of Buffalo, Wyoming

Churches of the West: First United Methodist Church of Buffalo, Wyoming:

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Buffalo Wyoming

Churches of the West: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Buffalo Wyoming:

This is St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Buffalo Wyoming. It was built in 1889. Oddly enough, it's one of two St. Luke's in Buffalo, the other being a Lutheran Church across town.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Buffalo Wyoming

Churches of the West: St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Buffalo Wyoming:

Classically styled Lutheran Church, St. Luke's, in Buffalo Wyoming. It's one of two "St. Luke's" in Buffalo, which is a fairly small town, the other being the Episcopal Church.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: Union Congregationalist Church, Buffalo Wyoming

Churches of the West: Union Congregationalist Church, Buffalo Wyoming:

Sunday Morning Scene: St. John the Baptist Church, Buffalo Wyoming.

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Buffalo Wyoming

This extraordinary church is located in Buffalo Wyoming. Construction was completed on this long dreamed of Roman Catholic Church in 1950. The architecture is quite unique for Wyoming, and very striking. Adding to it, the church sits on fairly spacious grounds.

Monday at the Bar: Courthouses of the West: Johnson County Courthouse, Buffalo Wyoming

Courthouses of the West: Johnson County Courthouse, Buffalo Wyoming:

 
Now no longer a courthouse, but it was at the time this photo was taken a couple of years ago.  A new courthouse has come into service since that time.   More details on Courthouses of the West, where this was originally posted.

Painted Bricks: Occidental Hotel, Buffalo Wyoming

Painted Bricks: Occidental Hotel, Buffalo Wyoming: This depicts Main Street, downtown Buffalo Wyoming. The building in the foreground is the Occidental Hotel, a very old Buffalo Hotel that ...

Transportation, late 19th Century

A modern highway map shows as distance of 211 miles from Worland, in the southern half of the basin, to Rawlins, and 293 miles from Cody to Green River, but modern transportation systems are not remotely like those of 1879. In practical terms, Green River and Rawlins were further from the Big Horn Basin in 1879 than they are now from Outer Mongolia, and criminal prosecution was nearly impossible.

There were no roads leading south from the basin, only trails. At least one yearly trip to the Union Pacific had to be made, though, because in the early 1880s this was the nearest railhead, the only real opening to a market to sell cattle and get supplies. E. W. Copps declared that the cattle drive from Buffalo to Rawlins, a trip that did not require a traverse of mountains, took eighteen days. Coming from the basin, however, a cattle owner first had to get out, and any exit required going over an 8,000-foot pass, such as Birdseye Pass or Cottonwood Pass; thus, David John Wasden's estimate of six weeks for a round trip seems about right. Of course, the return trip, when cattle were not being driven, did not take as long but was still arduous. Owen Wister describes a 263 mile excursion from Medicine Bow "deep into cattle land," a trip taking several days by wagon, while "swallowed in a vast solitude." His description sounds like a journey north into the Big Horn Basin.

Goodbye Judge Lynch, by John W. Davis.