1743 - Verendrye brothers may have visited the Big Horns
1807 - John Colter, a veteran of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, explores the
Big Horns and Yellowstone
1812 - Robert Stuart and six returning Astorians cross the Divide in the
vicinity of South Pass
1824 - William Ashley’s men rediscover South Pass
1825 - First fur trader’s
rendezvous held on the Green River
1832 - Captain Bonneville takes the first wagons through South Pass and
starts building
Fort
Bonneville
1834 - Fort William (Fort
Laramie), the first permanent trading post in Wyoming, is established
1842 - Fremont makes his first exploration of Wyoming, setting the stage for
the Oregon Trail
1843 - Oregon Trail established through central Wyoming
1847 - Mormons cross Wyoming on their way to Utah
1848 - All of present-day Wyoming is now owned by the United States
1854 -
Grattan massacre near Fort Laramie
1860 - First Pony Express riders cross Wyoming
1861 - Transcontinental telegraph starts; Pony Express stops
1862 - Overland Stage moves from Oregon Trail to Overland Trail
1863 - Bozeman Trail established through the heart of Sioux country
1865 - “Bloody Year on the Plains”
1868 - Wyoming Territory created from Dakota, Utah, and Idaho Territories
1872 - Nation’s first national park created -
Yellowstone
1882 - Cattle ranching boom starts - lasts 4 years
1890 - Wyoming becomes the 44th state
1891 - Nation’s first national forest created - Shoshone
1892 - Johnson
County War
1897 - First Frontier Days celebration held in Cheyenne
1897 - Copper booms in the Medicine Bow region - lasts 11 years
1906 - Nation’s first national monument created - Devils Tower
1925 - Nellie Tayloe Ross, the nation’s first woman governor, takes office
1949 - Massive blizzard paralyzes the state
1990 - Wyoming celebrates its centennial |
