Another small town museum, this one in Kaycee, Wyoming: Hoofprints of the Past Museum. The Hole in the Wall gang hung out nearby along with quite a few other outlaws. And we learned about the Johnson County War.
Rich cattlemen in Johnson County resolved to kill off competing smaller ranchers. They were joined by some hired Texas gunslingers. Known as The Invaders, they started a killing spree. But word got out of their location and they were surrounded. Their friends included the governor, Senators, and the president. So the army was sent to rescue them. They were taken into custody, transported to Cheyenne (the capital), and released without charges. Locals have not trusted Cheyenne, or Washington D.C., ever since.
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- The Kaycee school, 1890.
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- Inside the school.
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- Sheep wagon, the sheepherders home away from home. Modern versions are used to this day.
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- A “camp tender” visited every week or so with supplies.
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- The Kaycee jail, built with 2x6s and 5 kegs of spikes. Used into the 1950s.
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- In the museum, a treadle-operated Singer sewing machine just like the one my Nana taught me to sew on.