Upton, 19 miles southeast of Sundance, like many Wyoming towns, was settled with the opening of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad extension from Newcastle on August 5, 1890. Before the coming of the railroad there was a small settlement known as "Iron Town." Iron Town, itself took its name from Iron Creek which lies just to the west of present day Upton. Reputedly, the creek was named by C. P. "Dub" Meek, Commodore Perry Meek, as a result of its reddish color from ferrous oxide.

Pine Street, Upton, Wyoming, 1920's.

C. P. Meek originally came to the Black Hills with its original settlement in 1876 as a bullwhacker on ox trains taking supplies from Cheyenne to Deadwood. Previously, he ran freight from Cheyenne to Ft. Fetterman. On one occasion in May 1876, between the Inyan Kara Creek and the Cheyenne River, the ox train was attacked by Indians and was saved only by a passing troop of cavalry. Meek then tried his hand at stock growing at Centennial Prairie, Dakota Territory, before coming to the Upton area. Upon Wyoming's attaining statehood, Meek was elected to the State Senate.

Upton, Wyoming, 1920's.

The railroad had sidings approximately every seven miles. One siding was constructed at Iron Town. Sheep pens were constructed alongside the siding. Thus, the point became an important shipping point for sheep and the town was renamed Marino. However, Another town in Colorado bore the same name and thus the town was again renamed after George S. Upton, a surveyor for the railroad.

Percy Hotel, Upton, Wyoming, 1920's.

The area around Upton was also important for cattle. In the area, the Standard Cattle Co. and the YT both had operations. Thus, Upton was not immune from conflicts between cattlemen and sheepmen. The sheep pens at Upton were burned. "Jimmy the Butcher" who supplied beef to railroad surveyors was arrested for stealing Standard Cattle Co. beeves. Tom Waggoner made the butcher's bond. Jimmy's body was found out in the weeds and was buried next to a house belonging to Joe Eliot. Eliot was a "cattle detective" for the Standard Cattle Co. Waggoner's body was found dangling from a tree. It is generally believed that Eliot had a part in Waggoner's demise.

In September, 1905, Charlie Minter and a cowboy named George Brock had words at a sheep dip. Minter had come with his brother from Missouri in 1893, riding penny farthing bicycles from Missouri to South Dakota and then by horse to Merino. They sent for their parents. Brock had possbily come up the Texas Trail to settle in the area. The Texas Trail passed nearby. Minter homesteaded at Beef Draw through which the Texas Trail passed. On September 30, Brock and Minter met up with each other at an establishment owned by George A. Benedict, a major sheepgrower. There Brock pulled a knife on Minter. Minter, in turn, pulled a gun. Bystanders separated the two. Shortly thereafter shots were heard coming from near the railroad depot. Apparently, Minter had spotted Brock who by then was armed with a revolver. Minter fired. Brock returned fire hitting Minter in a major artery. After investigation, the County Attorney declined to prosecute.

On August 22, 1910, George Brock and James McCommis had words in which McCommis accused Brock of being a liar. There then ensued a fight in which McCommis hit Brock and Brock, in turn, choked McCommis. As Brock was leaving, McCommis plugged Brock with a 30-30, from the effects of which Brock expired.

On Friday night, October 30, 1914, Charley Minter's nephew Hike Minter attended a dance in Upton. Hike was the son of Town Councilman W. H. Minter. Several days later, Hike's brother Ben found Hike dead. Ben believed that his brother had been hanged. The coroner's jury was unable to determine the cause of death. No post mortem was ever conducted. Ben moved to Medicine Bow and never returned to Upton.

South side of Main Street, approx. 1940.

As previously indicated, Crook and Weston Counties were early the scene of coal and gold mining. Additionally oil was found south of Upton near Osage. However, it was a different form of mining that proved to be of greater importance to the area. Surrounding the Black Hills in a great circle is a band of clay, bentonite, formed by volcanic ash in the shallow seas that seventy-five million years ago overlay the area. Large beds of the bentonite lie along Iron Creek between Upton and Osage 15 miles to the southeast. About two miles northwest of Upton is the railroad siding of Colloid named after the company which opened the first major bentonite mill in Upton.

Although, bentonite, named after the ghost town of Benton near Ft. Fred Steele east of Rawlins where it was first discovered, has been mined since the late 19th Century, its major applications for industiral use in steel foundaries and as a lubricant for oil drilling dates to the 1920's. Prior to such use, its primary purpose was in cosmetics as "Denver mud." In 1924, a group of former gold miners in Deadwood formed the the Bentonite Mining & Manufacturing Company. In 1927 a former chicken farmer, Paul Bechtner, formed a partnership with the founders of Bentonite Mining. Bechtner had discovered the value of bentonite in the formation of foundary molds for automobile engines. In 1928, the newly partnership, now called, the American Colloid Company, constructed a bentonite mill at Upton. The same year, the Kansas City Silica Company constructed a plant near Osage. "Colloid" is a trade name derived from the Greek Kolloid meaning "glue-like." In this sense, the term Colloid is aptly named. Bentonite is an extemely sticky clay. When the clay is wet one might be easily trapped. The clay will adhere to one's boots with a incredible tenacity. The clay on the boots will then stick to the floor mats of one's truck, the upholstery, and anything else with which it comes in contact. It has the marvelous ability to expand 15-fold when wet. Its properties have been explored as a cure for diarrhea and as an intestinal detoxificant.