For many places, Casper included, there’s a history that cannot be easily explained. And around here, we believe it best to experience it for yourself in all its worth. Today’s Casper has been created from a rich past that includes: American Indian trails, fur trappers, pioneers, a thriving oil and gas industry, abundant outdoor recreation, dinosaurs and the Wild West. To truly experience the various facets of history, it’s best to explore them.
Serving as Casper’s historical anchor and providing the most comprehensive overview is the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. Overlooking the city, entry to the Trails Center is free and provides travelers with a look into the many people and eras that have made Casper what it is today. Interactive exhibits include American Indian history, the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express trails and their most significant landmarks like Independence Rock and Register Cliff.
Touchable history can also be found on a trek with Historic Trails West. Offering a hands-on experience along the Oregon Trail, Historic Trails West has experiences that range from short outings to multi-day treks as guests get a firsthand look at the trail, its terrain and history. The Casper area also has a rich history as it relates to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as Mormons), with areas of note that include Sun Ranch and Martin’s Cove.
In 1856, Edward Martin left Iowa with a group of Mormon pioneers bound for Salt Lake City. They were too poor to buy horses and covered wagons, so most brought their belongings in handcarts.
The M.L. Bishop Museum, Casper’s only house museum, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its association with the development of Casper from a small village to a livestock center and eventually to an oil town.
Exhibits chronicle the Salt Creek Oilfields from 1889 to the present, oilfield workers and their families, and a history of the area, including the Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s.
One of a small number of geology and paleontology museums in Wyoming, the Tate houses a collection of over 3,000 fossil and mineral specimens – including dinosaurs and Dee the Mammoth, an 11,600 year old Columbian Mammoth who lived in the American West during the Pleistocene, or…
