|
|
|
||||||||
Meeteetse, Wyoming
Meeteetse is one of the oldest settlements in the Big Horn Basin. The name comes from a Shoshone Indian word meaning "the meeting place." The area was well used by Indians. There have been many buffalo skulls, arrowheads, and teepee poles found. The best preserved teepee is located on Sheep's Point. The town was settled in the 1880s and many of the original buildings are still in use. A little house by the river was built in 1893 by William McNally, who homesteaded the present site of Meeteetse. Margaret Wilson started the first post office and the first school in the early 1880s. The Mercantile was established in 1899. The Hogg, Cheeseman, and MacDonald's bank was built in 1901.
By 1906, the town had seven saloons, one store, two banks, and two hotels. They were several other bars scattered over the area. At the forks of the Greybull and Wood Rivers was a popular bar called the "Bucket of Blood." The town had a reputation as a "wild and woolly" town until fairly recently. For the first time churches now outnumber saloons.
There was a Baptist parsonage, which was once a school, and the stage was used for most school functions. It was used by the Masons, Woodsmen, and the IOOF. It was also used for political rallies, one of the most memorable being one in which the main speaker died in the middle of his speech. Community dances were also held. At one dance a cowboy decided they needed a bonfire to liven things up so he built one at the base of one of the support columns, which is why the columns no longer match. The hall gradually fell into disuse.
In 1912, Josh Deane who homesteaded on the Wood river and had a Post Office there, started the Labor Day Celebration. Josh had been a freighter, mail carrier, and rancher, but his biggest claim to fame was his "yarn spinning," hence the name "Josh". He moved to town, opened a restaurant, and was elected mayor. He died in 1930.Some colorful people from this area include Checkbook Smith, Poker Nell, Bronco Nell, Laughing Smith, Swede Pete, Airplane Jerry, Shorty the Crock, and Greasy Bill. The local museum tells about their stories. The town has also produced some senators, governors, and a few criminals. There were shootings over women, over cards, over land, and over livestock. There were some rustlers, and Otto Franc is said to have helped bankroll the Cattleman's Association during the wars between the cattlemen and the homesteaders and sheepmen (Johnson County war). Mr. Franc wound up dead by gunshot and many thought it was because of his association with The Association. A hanging here and there settled a lot of squabbles and served as a warning to early entrepreneurs.
.In the 1980s the black-footed ferret, thought extinct, was discovered here. One of the rarest mammals in the world all of them were captured and placed in a captive breeding program when the plague broke out in the colony. They almost became extinct again, but officials managed to save some and their numbers have risen into the hundreds. The ferrets are currently being reintroduced into the wild.
Last updated: 4/16/98