Wyoming It is known as the "Cowboy State," and it has a man on a bucking horse as its official registered trademark.[1] The state is also officially known as the "Equality State" which relates to the fact that it was in 1869, the first place in the United States to allow women to vote.[2] The state also has several other nicknames.[2] It is the 10th largest state in the U.S. with an area of 97,814 square miles.[3] As of 2023, Wyoming had an estimated population of 584,057 people, making it the least populated U.S. state.[4]
Wyoming’s economy is heavily tied to mining and agriculture (primarily the marketing of beef cattle and sheep).[5] The state also has an important and growing tourist industry. Manufacturing is of only minor importance in Wyoming.[5] Wyoming’s economy ranks 50th in size among states and Washington, DC.[6]
The main agricultural commodities produced in Wyoming include beef, hay, sugar beets, grain (wheat and barley), and wool.[7] Minerals of major importance to the state are coal, oil, gas, and trona.[7] Trona is a sodium carbonate compound that is processed into soda ash or bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, as it is commonly known.[8] Wyoming has the world’s largest deposit of trona, supplying about 90% of the nation’s soda ash.[9] Wyoming is one of the top coal-producing states in the US.[7]
Known as the first national park in the world, Yellowstone National Park is home to over half of the world’s geysers, with Old Faithful being the most famous. Grand Teton National Park is known for its dramatic landscapes. Devils Tower National Monument was the first national monument. The historic Town of Cody is named after the famous western showman, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
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History of WyomingHistory of Wyoming
The first known explorers to enter Wyoming were the French Canadian brothers François and Louis-Joseph, sons of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de la Vérendrye. They visited the northeastern corner of the state in 1743 while unsuccessfully searching for a route to the Pacific Ocean.[10] John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was probably the first American to enter the region in 1807.[11]
On July 10th, 1890, the United States admitted Wyoming into the Union as the forty-fourth state. This marked a significant milestone in the history of the United States, as Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote.[12]
The area that is present day Wyoming was not directly affected by the Civil War. Battles were not fought in its borders nor soldiers provided. However, during the Civil War, volunteer regiments of California and Ohio troops arrived in what are now Utah and Wyoming to patrol the roads and protect the new transcontinental telegraph.[13]
In the late 19th century, Wyoming was still perceived as a rugged, inhospitable desert suitable for cattle grazing rather than farming.[14] The building of the Union Pacific across Wyoming forever changed the political and physical landscape.[15] The railroad offered economic opportunities that simply didn’t exist during the emigrant trails era.[15] Following World War II, Wyoming experienced modest population growth and an expansion of both its agricultural and resource-extractive economic sectors.[10] The discovery of uranium, an important nuclear fuel, in the Powder River basin in 1951 coincided with the expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal.[10]
Demographics of WyomingDemographics of Wyoming
The demographic distribution of the Wyoming population is as follows:[16]
- White: 88.65%
- Two or more races: 4.93%
- Other race: 2.31%
- Native American: 2.25%
- Black or African American: 0.91%
- Asian: 0.88%
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.08%
Most common surnames in WyomingMost common surnames in Wyoming
Researching family history in WyomingResearching family history in Wyoming
The National Archives at Denver have permanent records created by federal agencies for Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The Wyoming State Archives collects, manages, and preserves Wyoming state public records that have long term administrative, legal, and historical value. The American Heritage Center of the University of Wyoming has additional historic records that can have genealogical importance. The Wyoming State Library has historic newspapers, publications and other valuable records.
Wyoming county listWyoming county list
Wyoming has 23 counties.
| Albany | Big Horn | Campbell | Carbon |
| Converse | Crook | Fremont | Goshen |
| Hot Springs | Johnson | Laramie | Lincoln |
| Natrona | Niobrara | Park | Platte |
| Sherdan | Sublette | Sweetwater | Teton |
| Unita | Washakie | Weston |
See alsoSee also
Explore more about WyomingExplore more about Wyoming
MyHeritage.com has 12 collections of records containing records about Wyoming those include both the Western United States, Marriage Index, 1838-2016 and Wyoming, Marriages, 1877-1920. The other Wyoming Collection Catalog records contain additional valuable information.
References
- ↑ Wyoming State Nickname | The Equality State
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 7 Wyoming Nicknames and the Stories Behind Them
- ↑ Facts About Wyoming
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Wyoming; United States
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wyoming - Mining, Tourism, Agriculture | Britannica
- ↑ Economy of Wyoming Statistics and Data Trends: GDP ranking, unemployment rate, and economic growth | USAFacts
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 What Are The Biggest Industries In Wyoming
- ↑ Trona -Wyoming Mining Association
- ↑ Wyoming State Geological Survey - Trona
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Wyoming - Frontier, Pioneers, Cowboys | Britannica
- ↑ Colter's Hell: Tales of the First European-American to Step Foot in Yellowstone | U.S. Geological Survey
- ↑ 150 Years of Women's Suffrage in Wyoming | Jackson Hole History
- ↑ The Fights at Platte Bridge: White and Native Views Education Toolkit | WyoHistory.org
- ↑ Empire, Wyoming - Alliance for Historic Wyoming
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Industry, Politics and Power: the Union Pacific in Wyoming
- ↑ Wyoming Population 2024 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)
- ↑ Most Common Surnames in Wyoming, With Meanings