Albany County Historical Society

10/06/2026

On Tuesday, October 20th at 7:00pm, please join the Albany County Historical Society for Gwendolyn Kristy’s program: Laramie's West Side Neighborhood as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. We will meet at the Alice Hardie Stevens Center, 6th & University in Laramie. Free admission. Everyone is welcome! Refreshments will be served.

The attached newsletter has more details about Gwendolyn’s program and about other upcoming history-focused America 250th events where we hope to see you.

09/29/2026

JESSICA FLOCK – THE POWELL 150 EXPEDITION
Friday, October 2nd, 6-7pm, in Green River, Wyoming at Expedition Island Park & Pavilion, 475 South 2nd East. Hosted by Wyoming Public Media. Open to the public.
Jessica Flock, ACHS Past President, will give a special presentation about her participation in the 150th anniversary expedition down the Colorado River, commemorating the 1869 river trip led by John Wesley Powell. The 1869 expedition, which charted unknown territory from Wyoming to the Pacific, began in Green River. John Wesley Powell, a fascinating and notable figure in American history, was a Civil War veteran, explorer of the American West, and second director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). During Jessica's presentation, she will discuss the importance of the Colorado River Exploring Expeditions of 1869 and 1871, juxtaposed with the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition in 2019.

Wyoming Public Media’s opening reception that evening in Green River will feature a photo exhibit celebrating the winning entries from its Wyoming’s History Through Listeners’ Eyes photo contest. These vibrant images—captured by listeners from across the state—offer unique perspectives on Wyoming’s landscapes, communities, and heritage. The photo display will then be at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum for the month of October.

09/28/2026

Interesting events in Albany County's past Octobers.

1958 10 9 William Robertson Coe Library at U. W. dedicated
1891 10 16 Laramie bankers Frederick Scrymser and Matthew Dawson drown in Hutton Lake when their sail boat overturns
1874 10 17 UPRR starts to lay water pipe from springs east of town bringing sanitary water to many citizens and the rolling mill
1917 10 17 Thornburgh Hotel/UPRR Depot burns to the ground. Laramie's first motorized fire truck used to fight the blaze.
1969 10 17 “Black 14” incident; U. W. football coach Lloyd Eaton dismisses 14 African-American players who wanted to protest BYU’s racial policies
1917 10 22 Philip Mandel, likely the first permanent European settler on the Laramie Plains dies
1901 10 23 Grace Raymond Hebard of Laramie first woman to win Wyoming State Golf Championship
1960 10 23 Laramie Garden Club founded
1921 10 27 Weather report: High 45, low 26 wind gust 28
1911 10 28 Foundation is poured for the Connor Hotel in downtown Laramie
1899 10 29 Pioneer Albany County ranchman Charles Hutton dies

09/24/2026

Melissa Mehle's program about her 2nd great-grandmother, Eleanor "Nellie" Quackenbush Corthell at our ACHS meeting on September 15, 2026.

Video courtesy of C. David Massey.

09/23/2026

Kim Viner's educational program about the history of Albany County's WWI Memorial Monument, three WWI recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross on the Monument, a nurse on the Monument, and reading of the names of 33 men from Albany County and University of Wyoming who died while serving during WWI. (Thanks to The TALK SHOP for capturing this on September 20, 2026, at the Rededication of our WWI Memorial Monument.)

09/21/2026

Thank you for the huge turnout today at the Rededication of the Albany County WWI Memorial Monument. This is the photo compilation we showed today, featuring many of the 1,000 plus individuals named on the Monument who served 1917-1919 from Albany County and the University of Wyoming, including 33 who died while serving.

Today was a special day to remember the service and sacrifice of those named on the WWI Monument . . . . and to say their names! The Monument was originally dedicated on October 7, 1924, after Grace Raymond Hebard initiated the project and Edward Ivison funded the Monument.

Today was also an opportunity to celebrate the restoration of the Monument earlier this year, which was made possible by a grant awarded by Governor Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Semiquincentennial Planning Task Force. The Jacques Laramie Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, used these Wyoming250 grant funds to hire professional monument conservators to restore the Monument.

These WWI images were compiled for the Rededication of the Albany C...

09/12/2026

Sunday September 20 Albany County's World War One monument will be rededicated after being refurbished. Here is the story of how the monument came to be:

An icon of World War I is set to be rededicated in Laramie starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026. It contains the names of over 1,000 men and women from Albany County and the University of Wyoming (UW) who served in that war, including 32 who died. County residents who are interested i

09/08/2026

Louisa Swain's statue at the Wyoming Women's History House is fronted by a new and historically accurate plaque.

09/03/2026

On Tuesday, September 15th at 7:00pm, please join the Albany County Historical Society for Melissa Mehle’s program about her great great grandmother Eleanor “Nellie” Quackenbush Corthell, one of Wyoming’s early pioneer women. We will meet at the Alice Hardie Stevens Center, 6th & University in Laramie. Free admission. Everyone is welcome! Refreshments will be served.

The attached newsletter has more details about Melissa’s program and about other upcoming history-focused America 250th events where we hope to see you.