WYOMING
Crook County
MCKEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Moorcroft vicinity
National Register 4/01/1991
The McKean Site has yielded important information from as far back as
5000 years ago up to as recent as 150 years ago. This multi-component
stratified site is most widely known for knowledge gained about the Middle
Plains Archaic Period (ca. 5000 to 3000 years ago). Based on the archaeological
evidence, a major activity at the site during this period appears to have
been the large-scale processing of plant and animal foods. The McKean
Site is also significant in the development of professional archaeology
in the Northwest Plains as well as the adjacent regions. First
excavated in the early 1950's by the Smithsonian Institution, the site
has been the subject of debate and study in subsequent years.
Natrona County
PATHFINDER DAM
45 miles Southwest of Casper on North Platte
River
National Register 8/12/1971
Pathfinder Dam is a key feature of the North Platte Project, one of the
first five projects authorized for construction following passage of the
Reclamation Act of 1902. Built between 1905 and 1909, the storage dam
is a masonry arch gravity structure made from enormous blocks of granite
that were quarried from nearby hills. The dam stands 214 feet high. The
design of the arch dam is notable for being the first one analyzed using
a scientific process known as the arch-and-crown cantilever method (predecessor
to the trial-load method). Construction of the dam was an engineering
feat given its size, the difficulty of hauling materials from the nearest
railhead 47 miles away, and the challenge of maintaining a labor force
in this remote area.
Park County
BUFFALO BILL DAM
On Shoshone River 7 miles west of Cody
National Register 8/12/1971
When completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1910, 325-foot-high Buffalo
Bill Dam stood as the highest dam in the world. The concrete arch structure
was a major engineering achievement at the time. It was one of the first
dams whose design was based on exacting scientific analysis. Prior to
this, the analysis of arch dam designs was only an approximation, which
required the use of large factors of safety and much dependence on experience.
Buffalo Bill Dam is also significant as the first dam to be built of mass
concrete with a large percentage of irregularly-shaped rocks placed in
the concrete.
Buffalo Bill Dam
COLTER'S HELL
West of Cody on U.S. 14
National Register 8/14/1973
Colter's Hell bears the name of the famed western mountain man and explorer
John Colter, who is perhaps best known for being the first Euro-American
to discover Yellowstone National Park. On that journey in the winter of
1807-1808, Colter also became the first white man that can definitely
be identified as having entered the present state of Wyoming. It is known
for certain that he reached the place on the edge of present day Cody
called Colter's Hell which bears his name. It is today a region
of almost extinct geysers, but in its day, would have been an impressive
sight. The Bureau of Reclamation owns part of the land within the Colter's
Hell National Register District.
HAYDEN ARCH BRIDGE
Spans Shoshone River about 2.5 miles west of Cody on old US 14/16
National Register 2/22/1985
Vehicular Truss and Arch Bridges in Wyoming Thematic Resource nomination
Constructed in 1925, the Hayden Arch Bridge is a single-span reinforced
concrete arch bridge, with two smaller arch approach spans, a concrete
deck, and roadway width of 20 feet. The bridge also features concrete
railings with round arch balustrades. Named for Wyoming Highway Department
engineer C.E. Hayden, the bridge was probably designed by J. F. Seiler,
whose initials appear on the drawings. The only example of its type in
Wyoming, the bridge is one of the state's most significant vehicular
bridges.
HEART MOUNTAIN RELOCATION CENTER
Off US Alt. 14 near Powell
National Historic Landmark 9/20/2006
On September 20, 2006, the Secretary of the Interior signed and approved the National Historic Landmark nomination for the Heart Mountain Relocation Center near Powell, Wyoming. The site is nationally significant as one of 10 camps that housed Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945 following their forced removal from the West Coast by military authorities. At the time, the “evacuation” of Japanese Americans was justified on the basis of “military necessity” in the months following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and due to the professed inability of the military to gauge the loyalty of individual Japanese Americans.
The Heart Mountain Relocation Center district encompasses 123.93 acres of land, which includes 73.93 acres owned by the Bureau of Reclamation and 50 acres owned by the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation. Of the hundreds of buildings that were hastily constructed at Heart Mountain in 1942, only four remain standing. These include the hospital boiler house and associated smokestack, a hospital warehouse, a hospital mess hall, and an administrative staff housing unit. Land administered by Reclamation includes the original hospital complex and a portion of the administrative complex that contains a reconstruction of the Honor Roll memorial built by internees shortly before the camp closed to commemorate the interned Japanese who died serving the United States during World War II.
Platte County
LAKE GUERNSEY STATE PARK
One mile northwest of Guernsey
National Register 8/26/1980
National Historic Landmark, 9/25/1997
Lake Guernsey State Park is located on the shores of Lake Guernsey , a
reservoir created by the Bureau of Reclamation in the late 1920s as part
of the North Platte Project. The park was developed beginning in 1934
as a joint effort among the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service,
and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Features include a lakeshore drive
and skyline drive, an exceptional group of overlook and picnic shelters,
extensive trails, and a handsome museum. All of the structures share a
unified architectural inspiration, the use of common materials, and a
superb quality of craftsmanship. Building materials consist primarily
of rough cut stone and heavy timbers. Structures exemplify the use of
the "rustic" style of architecture. Overall the park retains excellent
integrity to the historic period of its development. Upon completion,
the park became a showplace of state park design in Wyoming, and one
of the most important early examples of recreational development around
a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir in the West.
Lake
Guernsey Museum Lake
Guernsey Picnic Area
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