Basin City was formed in 1896 by Winfield S. Collins with the thought that upon the formation of Big Horn County it would become the new county seat. Intitially, it was believed that Otto on the Greybull River had the edge. The outcome, however, was determined when Cody entered the race and drew off enough votes to assure Basin City's victory by a margin of 44 votes--even though the "City" only had 33 voters.

Sheep Canyon, 1907, photo by F. J. Hiscock

The Big Horn River forms Sheep Canyon through Sheep Mountain north of Greybull. At the turn of the century, several companies of Mormons from Utah and the area around Evanston established a colony in the Big Horn Basin. At the time the Burlington and Northern Railroad was considering extension of its line south from Pryor Gap Montana south into Wyoming. I.S.P Weeks an engineer for the Railroad contracted with a company of Mormons to extend the line twenty miles to Frannie. Ultimately, the Mormons provided the labor for 100 miles of the line and well as providing the labor for other public works projects including the Shoshoni Dam.

The Basin City Herald promoted the arid, sagebrush-strewn townsite as being in the "banana belt" of Wyoming and extolled:

Ferry Across Big Horn River, Basin, Wyoming, undated

With the exception of a few toll bridges and the Military Bridge at Ft. Laramie, until the early years of the 20th Century, the principal means of crossing streams was either by fording the stream or through the use of cable ferries, such as depicted above. Through the use of cables or ropes and pulleys which varied the angle of the craft with relation to the stream, the current could be made to push the ferry across the river in either direction, much in the same manner as one may tack against the wind in a sail boat. On the Big Horn, A. G. Rupp operated a ferry at the turn of the century at Welling or Wellington, three miles south of Manderson. Welling was named after Rupp's son, Wellington Rupp. In addition to operating the ferry, Rupp was postmaster and operated a store and corral. Among his customers was Butch Cassidy who visited the store following the Wilcox robbery and paid Rupp $20.00. Rupp later was a partner in the Worland Grit, a newspaper published at Camp Worland, before the town moved across the river.

Parade for County Fair, Basin, Wyoming, 1912

Troops boarding trains for World War I, Basin, Wyo., 1917

Wyoming was less isolationist than the Midwest and with the advent of the War, Wyoming contributed 12,000 men to military service, above the national average. Ten per cent of the population of Washakie County, as an example, joined one of the services. The Wyoming National Guard became part of the 41st Division in France in December, 1917. Basin, in addition to active duty troops, formed a home-guard unit. Patriotism was the rule of the day. One individual who criticized President Wilson was required to demonstrate his patriotism by publicly kissing the flag.

George W. Black Hardware Store, Basin, Wyoming, approx. 1910

Basin, Wyoming, 1937

Music this page:

Big Horn Basin continued on next page, Thermopolis and Meeteetse.