West Texas Trail Museum....Revisited! - 2016

Friend Don Matthesen and I originally visited the West Texas Trail Museum in Moorcroft, Wyoming July 11, 2013. The facility was undergoing a renovation and expansion, so we planned to revisit the museum after its completion. The expansion has been long since completed, but we finally got around to a "follow-up" visit on April 25, 2016. We were joined by fellow history buff Perry Beguin. We've included a few new photos to accompany those originally posted after our first visit. Included are a few samples of a wonderful traveling exhibit from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum entitled Outlaw Trails of Wyoming. Remember, you can click on any selected image to see a larger version. ◊ Larry Miller, Spearfish, SD
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  • West Texas Trail Museum front door

    West Texas Trail Museum front door

    This gallery contains photos from two separate visits to the West Texas Trail Museum in Moorcroft, Wyoming. You'll find photos taken recently (April 2016) and some taken during a visit three years earlier. CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO SEE A LARGER IMAGE

  • Perry Beguin and Don Matthesen in the museum lobby

    Perry Beguin and Don Matthesen in the museum lobby

    A "VISITOR REGISTER" IS ON THE FRONT DESK.

  • A view of the front galleries of the museum

    A view of the front galleries of the museum

    AMONG THE COLLECTIONS WITHIN THE MUSEUM: NUMEROUS FAMILY HISTORIES, HOUSEHOLD AND PERSONAL ITEMS FROM THE HELEN ROBINSON ZIMMERSCHEID COLLECTION, RAILROAD ITEMS FROM THE CB&Q RAILROAD DEPOT, ITEMS FROM ROBINSON MERCANTILE, AND A COLLECTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN ARTIFACTS.

  • Larry Miller, Perry Beguin, and Don Matthesen

    Larry Miller, Perry Beguin, and Don Matthesen

    THIS WAS OUR FIRST VISIT BACK TO THE TEXAS TRAIL MUSEUM SINCE ITS EXPANSION AND RENOVATION WERE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER 2013.

  • Moorcroft was incorporated nearly 110 years ago

    Moorcroft was incorporated nearly 110 years ago

  • A panoramic view of early Moorcroft

    A panoramic view of early Moorcroft

    AN EARLY DAY PHOTO OF DOWNTWON MOORCROFT, WYOMING. THIS MARCH 1919 PHOTO IS ON DISPLAY AT THE WEST TEXAS TRAIL MUSEUM IN MOORCROFT. We recommend you click on the photo to get a closer look!

  • Volunteer Alberta Reynolds chats with Don and Perry

    Volunteer Alberta Reynolds chats with Don and Perry

  • Wyoming's Outlaw Trail exhibit entry

    Wyoming's Outlaw Trail exhibit entry

    THE WEST TEXAS TRAIL MUSEUM IN MOORCROFT, WYOMING IS HOSTING "WYOMING'S OUTLAW TRAIL" EXHIBIT, A PUBLIC DISPLAY PUT TOGETHER BY SWEETWATER COUNTY HISOTIRCAL MUSEUM EXHIBITS COORDINATOR DAVE MEAD AND AUTHOR MAC BLEWER. IT FEATURES SELECTED TEXTS AND PHOTOS FROM A BOOK OF THE SAME TITLE BY BLEWER. IT'S AN "IMAGES OF AMERICA" 2013 PUBLICATION FROM ARCADIA PUBLISHING COMPANY.

  • A cool map of Wyoming's Outlaw Trail

    A cool map of Wyoming's Outlaw Trail

    THE OUTLAW TRAIL WAS AN HISTORIC AND FOLKLORIC PATH THAT MEANDERED FROM CANADA TO MEXICO AND WAS USED BY BUTCH CASSIDY, THE SUNDANCE KID, KID CURRY AND OTHER BANDITS. THE EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS THE DEEDS OF THESE SAME ROBBERS AS WELL AS THE LAWMEN AND ORDINARY CITIZENS WHO KNEW THEM.

  • Butch Cassidy of "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang" infamy

    Butch Cassidy of "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang" infamy

    THE CAPTION WITH THIS PHOTO RECORD OF NOTORIOUS OUTLAW BUTCH CASSIDY NOTED THAT HE HAD BEEN JAILED FOR BUYING A STOLEN HORSE. IT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT HE PROBABLY ADOPTED THE NICKNAME "BUTCH" FROM HIS WORK IN A ROCK SPRINGS BUTCHER SHOP. THE PHOTO WAS PROVIDED TO THE EXHIBIT BY THE WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES.

  • Tough times spawned some rough and tough guys

    Tough times spawned some rough and tough guys

    REMEMBER, YOU CAN CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION.

  • Don Matthesen and Perry Beguin learn about "Cattle Kate"

    Don Matthesen and Perry Beguin learn about "Cattle Kate"

  • "Poorest purpose a woman could be put to..."

    "Poorest purpose a woman could be put to..."

    The following caption is included with this photograph as part of the "Wyoming Outlaw Trail" exhibit: Sweetawater country rancers accused Ella Watson and her husband, James Averill, of rustling and onJuly 20, 1889, hanged them from a tree. The murder of Ella Watson, also known as "Cattle Kate," shocked the West. A Salt Lake Tribune editorial stated, "The men of Wyoming will not be proud of the fact that a woman ...had been hanged within their territory. That is about the poorest use a woman could be put to." Although certainly the most famous lynching of that time in Whoming, Cattle Kate's killing was just one incident that was indicative of a larger culture of violence and intimidation that existed between many ranches of that time period. (Courtesy of the American Heritage Center).

  • Devil's Gate

    Devil's Gate

    The following caption is included with this photograph as part of the "Wyoming Outlaw Trail" exhibit: The crime occurred near Devils Gate in the Sweetwater River country of Wyoming. It was near here that Ella Watson and Jim Averill were found swinging from a tree. The ranches who were accused of the double killing were never punsihed. It is still disputed if the couple were the rustlers. (Courtesy of the American Heritage Center.)

  • Early day Green River, Wyoming

    Early day Green River, Wyoming

    The Sweetwater County Historical Museum included this old photo of Green River, Wyoming in the early 1900s. This "Wyoming Outlaw Trail" exhibit item observed that Green River was "visited by some of the most notorious rustlers and robbers, including Jack Slade, Butch Cassidy, and Jack Morrow."

  • Old west outlaws come to life in the traveling exhibit

    Old west outlaws come to life in the traveling exhibit

    AS SHOWN, "WYOMING'S OUTLAW TRAIL" DISPLAYS HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY PHOTOS OF THE "OUTLAW OASES" ALONG THE TRAIL, SUCH AS THE "RED DESERT" AND "HOLE IN THE WALL" AND SOME OF THE ADJACENT COMMUNITIES THAT SHELTERED NUMEROUS "BAD MEN."

  • Tom Horn was hanged in 1903 for murder

    Tom Horn was hanged in 1903 for murder

    Part of the "Wyoming's Outlaw Trail" traveling exhibit from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. Photo courtesy of the American Heritage Center.

  • "Curry" can be "Confusing"

    "Curry" can be "Confusing"

    There was "Kid Curry," "Big Nose" Curry, and this fellow, known as "Flatnose" Curry.

  • Perry Beguin reviewing a book in the "Heritage Room"

    Perry Beguin reviewing a book in the "Heritage Room"

    AMONG THE BOOKS ON DISPLAY WAS ROBERT REDFORD'S 1981 BOOK "THE OUTLAW TRAIL: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME." IT'S A BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED ACCOUNT OF A THREE-WEEK RIDE FINANCED BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE IN 1975 OF THE OUTLAW TRAIL FROM CANADA TO MEXICO. FROM 1870 TO 1910, OUTLAWS RAN TO ESCAPE THEIR PAST OR THE PRICE ON THEIR HEADS.

  • "Kid Curry" with his girlfriend Della Moore

    "Kid Curry" with his girlfriend Della Moore

  • Hope we've whetted your appetite to learn more!

    Hope we've whetted your appetite to learn more!

    We've given you a small glimpse of "Wyoming's Outlaw Trail" traveling exhibit. If you're a fan of old west history, this is an exhibit you won't want to miss.

  • A bit about the origin of the traveling exhibit

    A bit about the origin of the traveling exhibit

    WYOMING'S OUTLAW TRAIL EXHIBIT REMAINS ON DISPLAY IN MOORCROFT THROUGH MAY 20TH, WHEN IT IS SCHEDULED TO BE ON DISPLAY AT AN "OUTLAW SYMPOSIUM" IN VERNAL, UTAH, FROM JUNE 10TH THROUGH THE MONTH OF JULY.

  • Of course, the museum tells much about the "good guys" too!

    Of course, the museum tells much about the "good guys" too!

    THERE'S THIS EXHIBIT ABOUT WILL CAFFEY

  • 2014 Induction to the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame

    2014 Induction to the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame

  • Wyoming pioneers -- the Guthrie family from Marion, Ohio

    Wyoming pioneers -- the Guthrie family from Marion, Ohio

  • Silas and Laura Isabel Guthrie - 1909

    Silas and Laura Isabel Guthrie - 1909

  • The Empire Sheep Company

    The Empire Sheep Company

  • There were good years (1910)...

    There were good years (1910)...

  • ...and there were bad years (1911-12)

    ...and there were bad years (1911-12)

  • Bankers

    Bankers

    The caption with this photo reads: "Left to Right: Capt. W.C. Carson, Dr. R. Shackelford, Clyde Hughes, Bert Waddell, Pinky Woolston and Grace Noonan. This bank was opened in 1906 and was located on the same street as Robinson Mercantile, K and P Hall and the land office."

  • Moorcroft was a major railroad shipping center

    Moorcroft was a major railroad shipping center

  • The old Moorcroft depot

    The old Moorcroft depot

    The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad came to Moorcroft in 1891. As this undated photo shows, there wasn't a lot around town in those very early years. That's the Moorcroft "metro" area at right.

  • Sights and sounds of railroading

    Sights and sounds of railroading

  • Wyoming Governor Robert Carey

    Wyoming Governor Robert Carey

    Mary Guthrie and Nancy Hinckley donated this sketch of Wyoming Governor Robert D. Carey to the museum. Carey served from 1919 to 1923. The sketch was given to Silas Guthrie with "Best Wishes."

  • A military tribute

    A military tribute

  • Ten-hut!

    Ten-hut!

    The helmet and infantry uniform worn by O'Neal Gray. The note reveals that this is a non-woolen uniform that was issued for his trip home after World War I, replacing his soiled and worn uniform. We've not seen a helmet like that before; there's got to be a great story about it.

  • Keeping warm

    Keeping warm

    Another piece of military memorabilia.

  • So much to see.....so little time!

    So much to see.....so little time!

  • Before microwave ovens, before gas, there was wood and coal!

    Before microwave ovens, before gas, there was wood and coal!

  • Texas Longhorns

    Texas Longhorns

    A bit about the Texas Longhorn.

  • Brands continue to be important to our region

    Brands continue to be important to our region

    A few of the many area brands.

  • A classic roll-top desk

    A classic roll-top desk

  • Sharing a bit of information

    Sharing a bit of information

  • Small world as we discuss mutual friends and acquaintances

    Small world as we discuss mutual friends and acquaintances

  • Artifacts, paintings, photos, and more...

    Artifacts, paintings, photos, and more...

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