Afton, Wyoming, 1908

To the right of center, behind the clump of trees may be seen the spire of the Mormon Tabernacle. See next photo. Afton, like most towns in the Star Valley was founded by Mormons. The Star Valley lies to the northwest of Kemmerer and is separated from the rest of Lincoln County, and, indeed, the rest of the State by the Salt River Range. Although the area received its first settlers in 1859 when some English Mormons were employed to work on the Lander Cutoff which passed through the area, the primary growth began about 1880 when Moses Thatcher and Charles C. Rich, apostles in the LDS Church, dedicated the valley for Mormon settlement. Previously, the area had been known as Salt Rver Valley.

Afton School (left) and Mormon Tabernacle (right), 1911

The Tabernacle was constructed in 1904. The isolation of the area caused the growth in the valley. Commencing in the 1870's and early 1880's, the Federal Government began criminal prosecution of members of the Church who practiced a teaching that promoted multiple wives. The law, itself, regulating the marital relationship had been passed in 1862 and signed by President Lincoln. The law, however, was generally ignored. The teaching found its origin with Joseph Smith in 1831 when he inquired of God why Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, were permitted to have multiple wives. The Lord replied that He had directed it:

Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. Section 132, Doctrine and Covenants, July 12, 1843, Nauvoo, Illinois.

The teaching, however, was not revealed to the Quorum of the Twelve until 1841 when Smith married Louisa Beaman. God's revalation was placed in writing in 1843 and made public in 1852.

Main Street, Afton, approx. 1910

In 1875, Brigham Young's personal secretary was tried for violation of the Territorial Laws relating to plural marriages. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in the Territorial Penitentiary. The case was appealed to the Territorial Supreme Court and then to the United States Supreme Court. After disposing of some procedural and evidentiary questions, the Court traced the history of the consitutional amendment guaranteeing freedom of religion and then concluded:

By the statute of 1 James I. (c. 11), the offence, if committed in England or Wales, was made punishable in the civil courts, and the penalty was death. As this statute was limited in its operation to England and Wales, it was at a very early period re-enacted, generally with some modifications, in all the colonies. In connection with the case we are now considering, it is a significant fact that on the 8th of December, 1788, after the passage of the act establishing religious freedom, and after the convention of Virginia had recommended as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States the declaration in a bill of rights that 'all men have an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience,' the legislature of that State substantially enacted the statute of James I., death penalty included, because, as recited in the preamble, 'it hath been doubted whether bigamy or poligamy be punishable by the laws of this Commonwealth.' 12 Hening's Stat. 691. From that day to this we think it may safely be said there never has been a time in any State of the Union when polygamy has not been an offence against society, cognizable by the civil courts and punishable with more or less severity. In the face of all this evidence, it is impossible to believe that the constitutional guaranty of religious freedom was intended to prohibit legislation in respect to this most important feature of social life.Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878)

[Writer's comment: It is hard to imagine what could be "punishable with more * * * severity" than death, unless it be hanging, drawing, and quartering, a punishment usually reserved for treason against the Crown. But Utah only made the offense punishable by five years in the Territorial Penitentiary.]

Afton, 1930's

The law remained, however, difficult of enforcement until 1882 when Congress enacted the Edmunds-Tucker Act. The act eliminated the need to prove an actual marriage ceremony and and permitted the Goverment to seize church buildings. Enforcement was stepped up in Utah and Idaho. In Idaho, United States Marshal Fred Dubois, after whom Dubois, Wyoming, is named, embarked on a cruisade against practitioners of multiple marriage. Many Mormons with multiple wives fled Utah and Idaho to Canada and Mexico. Others sought refuge in the secluded Star Valley of Wyoming. One of the first towns founded was Freedom settled in 1879. Freedom had the advantage that the main street was split by the Territorial Line with Idaho. Thus, to escape an Idaho marshal it was only necessary to cross the street.

Afton, 1942

Afton was founded in 1885. The first church was a log structure with a sod roof. By 1886, enforcement of the law was having a critical impact upon the Church. Utah Territorial Governor Caleb W. West noted, as an example, in a proclamation that the chief officers of the Church, the First Presidency, were in hiding. Other prominent members, apostles, bishops, and teachers were confined in the Penitentiary. As a result, "Great expense is necessarily incurred, and our courts [are] continually burdened with the trial of offenses against the law." The problem, however, began to resolve itself in 1890 when God instructed Church President Woodward that the Church should obey the law of the land. Accordingly, a manifesto was issued by the Church that plural marriages were no longer sanctioned.

Nevertheless, many refused to accept the manifesto and the population of the Star Valley continued to grow. The population was attracted by a Wyoming "live and let live" attitude. Additionally, the isolation of the valley attracted outlaws. Thus, both Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner sojourned in the Star Valley. As late as 1900, Heck Reel, an owner of the Spur Ranch near La Barge, pursued rustlers into the valley. But even if the law remained outside the area, politicians in search of votes were able to find their way in. Longtime Congressman Frank Mondell later recalled of one early campaign:

As we drove into the little village of Afton in the rich mountain-rimmed Star Valley, we were met by a pleasant capable appearing man who bade us welcome as Mayor and Republican committeeman. After these salutations he said smilingly that he thought we ought to know he was a polygamist, in case that might affect our attitude. We assured our friend we were not disposed to question the propriety of his family affairs and would be glad to accept his hospitality. Thereupon our party partook of a fine supper in the modest home of very pleasant and comely wife No. Three, and thereafter, leaving Miss [Estelle] Reel with her, the remainder of our party was comfortably housed in the larger homes of Wives One and Two.

This peculiar situation perhaps requires some explanation. When the federal authorities began action against the polygamists in Utah, the fathers of such households naturally sought means to escape prosecution without abandoning their families, and there came a transplanting of families into the adjacent states.Frank W. Mondell, My Story, Wyoming State Tribune, September 6, 1935

World's longest Elk Antler Arch, Afton, 1950's

Although Miss Reel was described as a "vivacious" "pretty pink cheeked blonde," she apparently was unwilling to take guff from anyone, man or woman. She described one trip as Indian School Superintendent to Fort Washakie. The best rig and team at the livery was one pulled by "a pair of gaunt, rawboned, black livery horses:"

After breakfast we started on the final day's trip. The road is rough and rocky, leading between scrubby firs, winding through the Red Canyon, where the red dust is ankle deep, and turning sharp comers, where if you swerve to the right or left a few inches, you would go down, down hundreds of feet. About two o'clock the horses began to give out and "Norway Pete" began whipping and swearing at his team. I had taken a driver, as my companion an eastern man, was afraid to trust himself to my driving.

I could not endure seeing the horses abused and told the driver to stop beating them, but he was not inclined to listen to me, and I fiercely turned upon him and threatened to shoot him dead in an instant, and he turned about ten shades redder than his hair and thought some of jumping off the box. My companion begged me not to shoot the driver and I finally consented not to, if he behaved himself for the rest of the trip.