Texas Trail Museum

05/10/2026

We've become a Harvest Host Partner!

Hey history buffs, the Texas Trail Museum is excited to announce that we have partnered with Harvest Hosts! Harvest Hosts is a network that invites RVers to stay overnight, giving members a safe convenient, and unique place to stay during their travels. We are offering 2 spaces for travelers so they can stay the night and enjoy learning about, and exploring our local history. If you are an RVer and would be interested in learning more about this amazing program please check out www.harvesthost.com

And we are the Texas Trail Museum in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. "Like and share" as they say!

04/30/2026

Breaking News! Breaking News?

Yeah, we think that's a current term that gets overused too, but we want to announce the museum will be opening for the season this week! Friday May 1st will be the first day of our new season. We hope you'll stop in and visit and consider becoming a member as well this season.

Our recent Spring newsletter is also out. From "Big Boy" to NASA and museum updates, it's all good news!

If you'd like a copy of this issue, just send a request to us at [email protected]

04/23/2026

America's favorite steam locomotive is on its way home from the west coast leg of the coast-to-coast celebration of our country's 250th birthday! While we don't have the times, it is scheduled to make whistle stops in Medicine Bow and Laramie and return to Cheyenne tomorrow, April 24th. After a little R&R, the train will start its eastern journey on May 25th and pass through this area then. It is scheduled to celebrate the Nation's Independence Day in Philadelphia. We love the sounds and sight of this great machine! (This video from the headin' west part.)

Thank you Union Pacific and Debbie Martinez Photography!

04/05/2026

Easter falls on a different date each year due to its relationship to both lunar and solar calendars. In the year 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea addressed the issue and decided that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. This formula allowed for consistency while preserving the connection to Passover and the resurrection.

Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Christians, it is the most important holy day in the calendar, representing the victory of life over death and the fulfillment of God's plan for human salvation.

04/01/2026

New History-

More than half a century apart, two launches stand as mirrors of their time—Apollo 11 in 1969, and Artemis II today.

NASA is targeting 6:24 p.m. EDT for the launch of Artemis II from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center—just a short distance from where Apollo 11 began its journey. If everything aligns—weather, systems, and timing—the Space Launch System will ignite and send four astronauts beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since 1972.

The mission will last about 10 days, carrying the crew roughly 253,000 miles from Earth, looping them around the Moon and back without landing. NASA states "The first crewed Artemis flight marks a key step toward long‑term return to the Moon and future missions to Mars."

Live coverage available online at various sites and YouTube.

03/28/2026

The railroad played a huge part of Wyoming's and our local history and one of many railroaders' favorites for its sights and sounds will soon be on the move. Tomorrow, March 29, Union Pacific will join the nation in celebrating 250 years of American independence and innovation this year with its first-ever coast-to-coast steam tour led by the legendary Big Boy No. 4014.

The first leg of the tour starts at 8 AM, Sunday, March 29, with the Big Boy and several historical passenger cars from Union Pacific’s Heritage Fleet traveling west to California from Cheyenne, the steam locomotive’s home base. Big Boy will arrive in Laramie at 11:15 AM, departing at 11:45 AM for its first public stop. Its western return trip from is scheduled for April 24th with a stop in Laramie and arrival back in Cheyenne before heading to the east coast on May 25th.

For the full schedule and more details, please visit https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule

03/27/2026

Recognitions this week included Medal of Honor Day and we recognize and remember a Medal of Honor recipient who lived in this area and left a lasting heritage from about 1867 and beyond his death in 1895. The nation's highest military decoration for valor in combat was awarded to William Dolan for his service during the Civil War during his seven years in the Navy. He and wife Margaret homesteaded on Muddy Creek south of Egbert and their one room schoolhouse is on display at the Texas Trail Museum. The Medal of Honor Citation reads as follows:

"On board the USS Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobil Bay, 5 August 1864. Although knocked down and seriously wounded in the head, Doolen (Dolan) refused to leave his station as shot and shell passed. Calm and courageous, he rendered gallant service throughout the prolonged battle, which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan despite the enemy's heavy return fire."

From article in the 2024 Spring Issue, Texas Trail Museum newsletter.

03/17/2026

St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 17, honors St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who is credited with bringing Christianity to the country in the 5th century. The earliest known celebration of St. Patrick's Day in America occurred as the feast day of San Patricio (St. Patrick), held in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1600, with a parade the following year. Over a hundred and sixty years later, in 1762, Irish soldiers within the British Army marched through Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan, New York in honor of their patron saint, resulting in a more continuous celebration of the day. People around the world now celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with parades, displays of shamrocks, the color green and festive meals that might include soda bread, colcannon and corned beef and cabbage!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to You!

03/17/2026

Unfortunately, the Nebraska fires continue to grow. They are currently reported as 700,000 acres, nearly all privately owned, thus greatly affecting farmers and ranchers across the large area. A relief fund is noted in the following article. There is news of slight containment of the Morrill fire. Please keep the firefighters and those in the path of this tragic event in your thoughts and prayers.

03/15/2026

The fires in Nebraska have become of historical nature, now said to have burned over 600,000 acres. We are thankful for all of our first responders and give special recognition to our neighboring fire department for their work in this ongoing tragedy.

03/01/2026

Way to go team!

The boys are regional champs and punched their ticket to state. They will play at 8:00 PM on Thursday. Great job fellas!!!