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Center Street, Casper. The building to the right with the dormers is the Hotel Natrona,
J. P. Smith, proprietor.
Compare with earlier photos.
The board sidewalks have been replaced, street lights installed, and crosswalks on the
side streets have been built so pedestrians will not have to walk in the mud.
The Courthouse in photo below was constructed in 1909. The first county offices were located in
two rooms above Bob White's saloon in the Grand Central Hotel building. The two rooms were later replaced by a tin-covered frame building
which cost the county $477.00. In 1908, the
County began planning for a proper courthouse which was ultimately completed in 1909. Title problems with
the lots upon which the courthouse was to be located (they belonged to Judge Carey) resulted in
the County building the courthouse in the middle of the street. The new building cost $44,274.00.
Silas Adsit, owner of the hotel on the left in the
photo, sued to block construction, but was unsuccessful. His property was closer to the location of the
old courthouse.
Center Street looking north, approx. 1912. Photo by
Ralph Doubleday
Although, prior to the Indian Wars, the future site of Casper had been the site of
Fort Caspar and the site of a bridge crossing the Platte River, with withdrawal of the
army the area was abandoned until the coming of the C Y Ranch. The bridge had disappeared and all
that was left by the 1880's were rocks where once had stood the supports for the bridge.
Thus, Casper as a city dates to 1888 when the railroad arrived. The spelling was as
a result of an error when the post office was established.
The earlier Platte River Bridge was built by
Louis Guinard in 1859-1860 and replaced an earlier bridge down stream which had
washed away. The bridge was 810 feet long and was supported by 28 wooden cribbens.
Total cost of the bridge was approximately $40,000. Tolls, depending on the
flood stage, varied from $1.00 to $6.00 per wagon. Before the construction of the bridge the
area was the site of several ferrys, including the Mormon Ferry. The ferry
was guided across the river on a cable. The ferrymen could by varying the angle of the
craft cause the river current to propel the vessel across the river in either direction.
Grand Central Stables, West Second Street, approx. 1900.
The stables were owned by Martin M. "Shorty" Castle. Mounted on the white horse
is Blake Horn (1882-1955). Horn ran away from home in Alabama at about age of 15 in 1897 to become a cowboy.
For a time he worked on the Tobin Ranch. Later he became a rodeo cowboy and homesteaded his
own ranch proving up his claim in 1922.
Grand Central Hotel, Center and 2nd Streets, 1907.
Note the doors on the second floor opening onto nothingness. The hotel, owned by liquor dealer Hugh L. "Colorado" Patton, was located on the
southwest corner of Center and 2nd Steets.
Second Street looking east to Center.
Grand Central Hotel on right. Charles H. Townsend's Clothing and
Dry Goods Store on the left.
As indicated by the doors on the second floor in the upper view and by the undated
photo to the left,  the hotel
originally had a porch on the front. The second-floor doors were
ultimately closed in. The hotel was badly
damaged by a 5.8 Richter Scale earthquake on November 14, 1897. As a result of the
quake, a crack in the brick work formed all the way from the first floor to the third, causing the
terrified occupants of the hotel to flee into the street. Not withstanding Patton's nickname,
he was born in Michigan.
Townsend's Clothing Store was opened in 1898. The building depicted above was constructed in
1903. Townsend later went into the banking business. The building housed both of his banks,
The Stockmen's National Bank of Casper and the First Trust & Savings Bank, at the same
time. Townsend served as Worthy Master of Casper Lodge No. 15 in 1897 and became Grand Master of
the Wyoming Grand Lodge in 1900. In 1903 he became the Worthy Grand Patron of the
Eastern Star. In 1924, Townsend opened his lasting contribution to
the skyline of Casper, the Townsend Hotel at 115 N. Center discussed on a later page.
On February 11, 1928, Townsend withdrew from the
banking business. Nevertheless, he continued with civic and fraternal affairs serving as District
Governor of the Rotary in 1930 and becoming Most Worthy Grand Patron of the Eastern Star in 1940. Casper Lodge
No. 15 A.F. & A.M. at 105 N. Center is the four-story building immediately past the Townsend Hotel in the
1938 view above.
Intersection of 2nd Street and Center, approx.
1905.
C. H. Townsend's Stockmen's National Bank is on the far corner. The buildings on the
right were later replaced by the Rialto Theatre discussed on a subsequent page.
Casper Photos continued on next page.
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