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What an interesting town!
Arland was built in 1884 by Victor Arland, a Frenchman who came to America in 1870. He was prospecting in the Black Hills of South Dakota by 1875, and by 1878 was at Fort Custer on the Yellowstone River. John Corbett and Arland became partners by 1880 in a trading post venture. They moved their trading post to Trail Creek, then to Meeteetse Creek. Their trading post on Meeteetse Creek included "A store, saloon, a restaurant, (including dining room, kitchen and bedroom), a basement with one of the buildings, a storehouse, a stable for 25 horses, a cabin for a storehouse for oats and a cabin for a chicken house..." written in a letter by Victor Arland dated October 6, 1884, as printed in Brand of a Legend.
Early in 1886, the government post office was established at Arland. There was also a hotel, bunk house and several residential cabins, restaurant, saloon, dance hall, store, livery barn, corrals, and a house of ill repute operated by Arland's friend Rose Williams. The town of Arland was a bloody place, with many people dying a violent death there. Arland himself was shot in Red Lodge, Montana, in December 1889. The town of Arland continued to function in its notorious way for seven years after the death of Vic Arland.
In 1891, William Gallagher rode into the country with Belle Drewry. Gallagher was a tall, mean and vicious cowboy who worked for the Pitchfork Ranch. Belle worked as a prostitute in Arland and was Gallagher's girl. However, by 1894, she had fallen in love with Bill Wheaton. Gallagher found out about Belle and Wheaton and one day when in Old Meeteetse, he beat Belle, knocking her to the ground, kicking her. Belle borrowed a gun from a friend and Wheaton killed Gallagher, shooting him between the eyes. Gallagher's friend, "Blind Bill" Hoolihan was then going to avenge Gallagher's death by killing Wheaton, however, Wheaton also killed him. Wheaton was sentenced to eight years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.
One story tells how Belle's new love was John Corbett. Corbett fought quite a bit with Jesse Conway, who carried the mail. Corbett decided he should plan a way to get rid of Conway, before Conway got rid of him. Corbett planned a party at a saloon in Arland, knowing Conway and his friends would come. Conway did come, and he and his friends got wild and started shooting out the lights and windows. Belle Drewry pulled out a gun and killed Jesse Conway. His partners pulled him out of the saloon, tied him on a saddle horse and took off. The story continues that the next night, one or more of Conway's friends killed Belle Drewry and three other women in town.
The town of Arland dried up rapidly after that. The graves of Belle Drewry, "The Woman in Blue," William Gallagher and Blind Bill have been moved to Old Trail Town 32 miles away in Cody
Dances were a popular entertainment in the 1880's. People would travel miles to a dance. In the 1880's, the only town around with a hall was Arland located near present day Meeteetse. Arland was not much of a town, consisting of the obligatory saloon, livery stable, and store operated by the town's founders John F. Corbett (1848-1910) and Victor Arland. Corbett was originally from Massachusetts and Arland from France. The town also had a hotel or rooming house, the rooms of which were separated by "walls" made of muslin sheets. Rose Williams operated a sporting parlor. Corbett and Arland had come to the area about 1880 from Ft. Custer and established a trading post near the foot of Rattlesnake Mountain near present day Cody. In 1883, the two moved the trading post to Cottonwood Creek. At Ft. Custer, Corbett had been a freighter and Arland had, apparently, been a buffalo hunter and earlier a miner in the Black Hills. In 1883, the wagon road from Rawlins to Red Lodge, Montana, had been established by the government and the businessmen of Red Lodge had raised a public subscription to build a $5,000.00 bridge across the Stinking Water. Thus, the following year Corbett and Arland moved the trading post once again, apparently to be closer to the action produced by the twice-a-week stage. Thus, the town of Arland was born. In 1887, Marquette was providing the fiddle music for a dance at the Hall in Arland. On the night in question, Marquette was tuning up and the dancers pairing up. There appeared in the doorway an individual variously known as "Broken Nose" Jackson or "Rawhide" Jackson. The music stopped. A hush came over the crowd, that strange silence which occurs when there is some horrible faux pas. There lying on the doorstep was the dead body of Jackson and in Victor Arland's hand was a smoking gun. The festivities, however, resumed, with Vic's remonstrance, "Stop staring like a bunch of idiots. Start up the music, he can't hurt you. He's dead." Jackson was stowed away in a backroom awaiting burial the next day. And as old-fashioned social columns used to say, "A good time was had by all." Three years later, Vic Arland and Rose Williams were visiting Red Lodge. While Vic was playing poker in Dunivan's Saloon, he was killed by a shot through the window. Rose Williams, herself, was ultimately found dead in the road outside of a house belonging to Belle Drewry about five miles downstream from Arland. The music finally stopped in Arland in 1897. At a dance, Belle Drewry plugged Jesse Conway. Belle was, as they say, "a professional lady" and had arrived in Arland about 1891 from Sundance where she had run into problems with the law. Conway and Corbett were in a dispute over the affections of Belle. Earlier, others found themselves pushing up daisies as a result of such disputes. William Gallagher, a Pitchfork cowboy, was killed by Bill Wheaton after Gallagher beat up Belle. Previously, Belle and Gallagher had been friends. When Bill was arrested for improperly branding a horse, Belle had gone his bail. A one-eyed cowboy named Bill Hoolihan attempted to avenge Gallagher's killing. Wheaton was the better shot. Wheaton was sent off to Laramie for eight years. After Conway was plugged, his friends loaded his body over the back of a horse and departed. The next day, however, they returned and killed Belle and three of her co-workers. By this time, Meeteetse had been founded and probably the main raison d'etre for the continued viability of Arland were the ladies. With their deaths, Arland faded from existence, the only trace remaining is the cemetery.
The Wyoming toad currently is found only in the State's Laramie Basin. Wyoming toads (Bufo hemiophrys baxteri) were once abundant in the wetlands and irrigated meadows of Wyoming's southeastern plains. However, by the 1970's the population had declined drastically and was confined to privately owned lands surrounding Mortenson Lake. In 1984, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recognized the species' precarious status by listing the Wyoming toad as endangered. To protect the last population, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) stepped in and purchased the lake and surrounding lands, totaling approximately 1,800 acres (730 hectares). But populations continued to decline, and by 1994 the species was extinct in the wild. Only captive populations remained.
In December of 1996, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) approved a Species Survival Plan (SSP) that formalized a cooperative program of the AZA, FWS, and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGF). This program was designed to restore the Wyoming toad, one of the most endangered amphibians in the United States, to a secure status in the wild.
The reintroduction story began in 1988, when a small number of toads were taken from Mortenson Lake to WGF facilities for captive breeding. In 1992, the FWS purchased some of the Wyoming toad's last habitat from TNC and established the Mortenson National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). That same year, tadpoles and toadlets were released at Lake George and Rush Lake on Hutton NWR in an effort to establish a second wild population. By 1994, it was apparent that emergency measures were needed. In an effort to prevent the animal from becoming extinct, the last remaining toads were captured and a more intensive captive breeding program was initiated. The captive population greatly increased by 1995, with the help of several AZA affiliated zoos and the WGF facilities.
Wyoming toads are now housed at eight AZA affiliated zoos: Central Park (NY), Cincinnati (OH), Detroit (MI), Henry Doorly (NE), Houston (TX), Sedgwick County (KS), St. Louis (MO), and Toledo (OH). Two government facilities, the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery (WY) and Sybille Wildlife Research Center (WY), also have captive populations. Diane Callaway of the Henry Doorly Zoo maintains a species studbook to manage the genetics of the entire captive breeding population. Nearly 600 toads now exist in captivity and there are over 3,000 historical records in the studbook. Each spring, a number of the offspring produced that year are held back for the captive breeding program. The rest are returned to Wyoming, where they are released as tadpoles or toadlets. Since 1996, the program has produced approximately 10,000 toads for reintroduction into the Laramie basin. Most of the release efforts have focused on Mortenson Lake. Once a viable population has been established there, we will concentrate on other lakes in the area. So far, only a small number of toads have survived to breed. By the spring of 1998, several two-year-old captive hatched and released animals were heard calling at Mortenson Lake. The calls indicated breeding activity in native habitat for the first time since the Wyoming toad was declared extinct in the wild
I am so sorry for your loss. Our men and women step up to the plate and take care of our country. Only to give all. I respect their decision and salute it. If we didn't have the brave, we would be a sorry country.
To you Shane, I salute. It's all I can do.
May they bring you home with pride and burry you with the true and proud. May you rest in piece. Be assured sir. You covered your ground. Never regret it.
We have to salute our fallen.
Next question:
Has European Gov ever visted Wyoming? If so, when and where?
Last edited by ElkHunter; 05-21-2010 at 08:58 AM..
I had origionally posted that King Haakon the VII of Norway had visited the state of Absaroka, but I could not find when or why. While trying to find out when, I discovered that Queen Elizabeth the II had visited Bighorn in October 1984 when visiting her relatives at the Wallop Ranch.
I had origionally posted that King Haakon the VII of Norway had visited the state of Absaroka, but I could not find when or why. While trying to find out when, I discovered that Queen Elizabeth the II had visited Bighorn in October 1984 when visiting her relatives at the Wallop Ranch.
You got it. When Queen Elizabeth visited, Sheridan Airport put a sign up saying "Sheridan International Airport."
This town had its beginning early in the 1900s as a lumber and sawmill town. It was first started by the McLaughlin Tie & Timber Company. However, they ceased operations in 1907. About 1921, the Homestake Mining Company developed the town as a lumbering and sawmilling community to provide timbers for the mine. A post office was opened in 1925 and a school in 1928. The population reached about 200 in the 1930s. The mill and the town were closed down during the Second World War and never reopened.
What was the name of this town, and where was it located?
Moskee had its beginning early in the 1900s as a lumber and sawmill town. It was first started by the McLaughlin Tie & Timber Company. However, they ceased operations in 1907. About 1921, the Homestake Mining Company developed the town as a lumbering and sawmilling community to provide timbers for the mine. A post office was opened in 1925 and a school in 1928. The population reached about 200 in the 1930s. The mill and the town were closed down during the Second World War and never reopened. Many of the buildings still remain. The town is best reached from US 85 near the Hardy Ranger Station.
Quote:
A worthwhile trip. Moskee Wyoming is located on private owned land. the road into Moskee is not a public road. and again the Homestake mining company has leveled the old site and there is nothing remaining.
This ghost town is now located inside privately owned property, and is now only accessible by a four mile long trek, to a single standing building! I visited Moskee between August 23rd and the 1st of September.
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