EXHIBITIONS
LOCATION:
3
East Flaming Gorge Way
Green
River, Wyoming 82935
Just
blocks from
I-80 Exits 89 & 91
HOURS:
Monday — Saturday
10
am to 6 pm
Closed Sundays
& major holidays
ADMISSION:
FREE!
CONTACT:
(307) 872-6435
(307) 352-6715
(307) 872-3234 fax
Email:
swchm@sweetwater.net
see us on Facebook
Click on map below to enlarge
Discover the rich cultural heritage of southwestern Wyoming at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. Established in 1967 to preserve the history of Sweetwater County, the museum galleries feature both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The museum also maintains exhibits at several off-site locations in Sweetwater County, including the airport, hospital, and other public facilities.
Sweetwater County's history began long before written records. In prehistoric times the landscape was swampy and inhabited by great dinosaurs. Thousands of years later Native American, mostly Shoshone and Ute, claimed the land. The first white men moving through the area with regularity were the mountain men. The first Rocky Mountain Rendezvous was held in 1825 in Sweetwater County, as was a later gathering in 1834 that is said to have been the largest rendezvous ever.
Several major emigrant trails passed through the county including the Oregon, California, Mormon, Overland, and Cherokee Trails, as well as the Pony Express Trail, 1961 transcontinental telegraph county was the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1868. this was instrumental in the creation and development of Sweetwater County's two major population centers, Green River and Rock Springs. Green River was the major railroad town due to the nearness of a water supply, while Rock Springs became the coal mining center of the county.
To learn more about the museum's exhibitions, please
click on a topic below.
2010 Christmas
Seasonal Display
Dinosaurs ۰ Fossils ۰ Prehistoric People ۰ Native Americans ۰ Mountain Men
John Wesley Powell ۰ Oregon-California Trail ۰ Mormon Trail ۰ Pony Express
Cherokee & Overland Trail ۰ Stagecoaches ۰ Union Pacific Railroad ۰ Coal & Trona Mining
Oil & Gas Booms ۰ Mormon War of 1857 ۰ Chinese Massacre
U.S. Army in Wyoming ۰ Outlaws & Lawmen ۰ Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Big Nose George ۰ Cattle Ranching ۰ Sheep Herding ۰ Riverboats ۰ Aviation
Lincoln Highway ۰ Amelia Earhart ۰ Women's History ۰ Wyoming General Hospital
Nursing ۰ Firemen ۰ Rialto Theater ۰ Home Entertainment ۰ Wild Horses
Offsite Exhibits
۰
Chinese Dragon
Parade
Dollhouses and Vintage Toys Featured at County Museum
Christmas has
come again to the
Sweetwater County
Museum with
vintage toys
coming out of
storage for the
season. The Graf
dollhouse makes
its annual
appearance
beginning at 4
p.m. on
Wednesday,
December 8th, as
do several other
miniature houses
from the museum
collection. The
Graf dollhouse
was built and
furnished in the
1930s by Green
River residents
George and Louise
Graf for their
daughter Mary
Louise. This
house is not a
model in perfect
scale, but a
well-loved toy.
Visitors will
also see a
dollhouse made by
the Bliss Company
of Rhode Island.
Bliss
manufactured
dollhouses
between 1889 and
1914. The Bliss
house in the
exhibit dates
from 1904 and
belonged Erma
Mercer. It
features a
Moorish keyhole
arch and
elaborately
printed paper
applied to the
interior and
exterior walls as
was typical of
Bliss houses of
the era. A
dollhouse and
roombox on loan
from local
miniaturists are
on exhibit as
well.
Toys in display
include various
metal pieces like
a Ferris wheel
and airplane. A
sled, bought for
$5 at the
Chrisman Candy
and Novelty Store
in 1886, provided
outdoor fun for
the Viox children
in Green River.
The pride and joy
of many boys, a
1952 Crosman Arms
Co. pellet gun
appears in the
exhibit.
In honor of the
season, the
exhibit contains
a Santa suit used
by a local man
for many years
and a shiny
silver Christmas
tree with a
rotating color
wheel from the
1960's. Historic
holiday
photographs are
part of the
exhibit as well.
This exhibit is
dedicated to the
memory of Justin
Keith, son of
museum staff
member Cyndi
McCullers, and
Eric Keith.
Justin was known
for his
light-hearted and
playful spirit
and he is greatly
missed.
The exhibit opens at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8th in conjunction with the lighting of the community Christmas tree in downtown Green River. The museum will be open until 8 p.m. that evening and all are welcome to come in, warm up and see the exhibit.
The shopkeeper
presides over the
interior of his
tobacco and
stationary store.
This room box was
created by a
local miniaturist
Ruth Lauritzen
and contains
miniatures from
her personal
collection.
Dollhouses and
vintage toys are
on display at the
Sweetwater County
Historical Museum
through the
holiday season.
Erma Mercer wrote her name on the back of her dollhouse when she received it in 1904. The house was manufactured by a major American maker, Bliss and shows the typical detailed paper designs covering the interior and exterior walls.
The Gaensslen family Christmas tree is admired by the baby of the family on Christmas Day in 1910. Historic photos are featured in the holiday exhibit at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum.