Dietz, 1909
Dietz, originally called Higby, was renamed after the owners of the Dietz Lumber Company of Omaha, Charles N. Dietz, Gould Dietz, and
J. Frank Dietz. Gould Dietz is remembered today for his sporty 40 hp., $3,000.00, 1907 Thomas Flyer.
Dietz's automobile was used to chauffeur Col. Henry Carrington on his triumphant restoration of
reputation visit to Omaha in 1908. Carrington also was the man of the hour in Sheridan. Dietz was also a
witness to the 1897 "airship" seen by numerous witnesses in
Michigan, Kansas, and Nebraska. Dietz was not so much as one town, but a series of towns or camps:
numbered, Dietz #1, Dietz #2, Dietz, #3, Dietz #4, Dietz #5, and Dietz #7. These
sprang up near each of the eight mines. The camp had a number corresponding to the number of the
mine. Thus, Dietz was near the Dietz Number 1 Mine, the town of Dietz #2 was at the Number 2 Mine, and so forth. However,
there were no towns of Dietz #6 or #8 because there was no camp at Mine Number 6, and
Mine Number 8 was in the same vicinity as Dietz #5.
Deitz, 1909
By the time of the above photos, Dietz had 2 churches, 2 schools, a company store, 2 saloons, a pool hall,
a union hall, and a hotel. Today, the towns are ghost towns.
Monarch, 1909
The Sheridan area, like most of Wyoming, had its share of coal camps most of which have become
ghost towns. Other camps in the area included
Acme, Carneyville, Kooi, and Monarch, all clustered about half way between Sheridan and
Ranchester near the confluence of Big Goose Creek and the Tongue River. The miners in the
area were primarily Polish.
Monarch Tipple.
Monarch, about 10 miles north of Sheridan, was founded in 1903 when
the Chicago, Burlington and Qunicy reached the area. At its peak it had a
population of approximately 800 and was connected to Sheridan by a street railway.
Monarch, Wyo., 1914
Beginning in the 1920's, coal mining in the Sheridan area began to decline.
By the 1930's, most coal mined in the area was for local use. In 1940 a gas pipeline reached
Sheridan and most of the remaining mines closed. Monarch
was abandoned about 1953 and today consists of several buildings and the cemetary.
Church, Monarch, Wyo., 1905.
Next page, Acme and Carneyville.
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