Daniel, Wyoming, First 100 Years

A 2-volume history of the town of Daniel, Wyoming, along with the surrounding ranching community. How the town got started and how it developed over one hundred years. Original material and photos from private collections never before seen by the public. Proceeds from book sales will go towards improvements at the 1920 Daniel Schoolhouse.

[Highlights] [Excerpts] [Table of Contents]
[Pictures from Daniel Social 2001]

Daniel Lane, 1922
Daniel Lane, Town of Daniel, 1922

Daniel, Wyoming
The First Hundred Years

Highlights
Recently added: Expanded cemetery section & new section on Daniel area brands!

  • Old Photographs
  • Homesteads, filing dates, maps
  • Homesteader list from 1895-1905
  • Land transactions & deeds 
  • Property owners from 1899-1955
  • 5 Town maps
  • 1897 map of Daniel area
  • Old newspaper accounts
  • Indians & mountain men
  • Rendezvous held in the area
  • Cemetery records & ranch burial sites
  • Justice of the Peace records from 1901-1908
  • School teachers from 1922-1943
  • Locations of schools & students
  • School census 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912
  • Roads to Daniel 
  • Modes of transportation
  • History of road improvements
  • History of the telephone
  • Early mail service
  • History of electricity and radio
  • Pioneers & landmark buildings
  • Fort Bonneville
  • Father DeSmet
  • Pinckney Sublette
  • Hartley murder trial
  • Murder of Charles Holden
  • Daniel in the 1930s
  • History of the 1st store & post office
  • The Key Store
  • The Green River Bar
  • Family historys of about 200 ppeople
  • Oral family histories
  • Mamie Tarter history
  • History of Bronx Community Club
  • Daniel census for 1900-1920
  • Daniel voter registration 1900-1946
  • Names of mountain peaks
  • Description of a cowboy's life
  • History of tie hacks
  • History of outfitting
  • History of religion & ministers
  • Indians in area before Daniel
  • Daniel's bid for the county seat
  • Wolves, horses, tusk hunters

Much more!

February, 2001 Book Update
The book is here! The book committee is proud to announce that 780 pages, 811 photos, 30 maps, and 250 livestock brands have come together in the long awaited two-volume book, DANIEL, WYOMING-THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, 1900-2000. This epic, numbered, first-edition publication-sure to become a collector's item, debuted at the Daniel Social on Saturday, February 10, at 6:30 pm, for $50 per book set.  The books are available at the Daniel Trading Store and the Green River Bar in Daniel for $50 per set. (see pictures from the Social) Book signings are being arranged in Pinedale and Big Piney. At a later date, the remaining books will be offered to interested bookstores and other outlets. The price at that time will no doubt increase, so please plan to buy your books early.  If you wish to order a book set by mail, make your check payable to the Daniel Community Center in the amount of $50 plus $7 shipping fees per set. Mail to: Book, Box 311, Daniel, WY 83115-0311.

Selected Excerpts

Early History Scott Barber, Daniel's early storekeeper and postmaster, told a good story about Ira Dodge. It is said that while Ira ws Justice of the Peace at Daniel he had an old Montgomery Ward catalog with a leather cover on it that he used as a law book. When he fined anyone, he just opened the catalog and fined them whatever the price was of the first article he saw. One time he opened the book and fined a man $4.98. The fellow jumped up to protest. His partner pulled him back down again, saying, "Shut up, you fool, you are lucky he didn't open the catalog to pianos."


The Court Ledger, circa 1901 This is an original Justice Book, in which Justices of the Peace in Daniel summarized the court cases appearing before them. In the actual handwriting of early Daniel Justices of the Peace are the summaries of the problems when early residents ran afoul of the law and the thoughtful verdicts that were applied. Although many of the cases are negligible, there also appear in the ledger tantalizing glimpses of some of the long-remembered murders and other major crimes in the Daniel area. The original Ledger now resides at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale.


Daniel in the 1930s Approaching Daniel from either the north or south in the 1930s, one came to a sign beside the highway, "DANIEL, population 100." Today, 70 years later, approaching town you see signs, "DANIEL, population 110." Any town growing in population by only 10 residents in 70 years can't be all bad. Daniel continues to be a fine little western town, a great place to live and raise a family!

In the valleys and on the hills, it was easy to find something interesting to do. What? Well, what adult can remember what was so absorbing when they were children? We had swimming parties in the creeks. We watched the ties floating down Horse Creek and tried to snare a few to build a playhouse. Even in those depression days, families could spare a can of vegetables. A favorite pasttime was for each of us to take a can of vegetables and head for the Horse Creek hill where we made a sagebrush fire, dumped all the canned vegetables into a pot, and feasted on our "mulligan." In winter we went skating on the rivers and creeks. We went skiing on the Horse Creek hill-wallowing up through the snow (no ski lifts in those days) to get a brief slide down. We hooked our sleds and toboggans behind cars leaving Daniel, rode a ways, and then walked back. We had parties.

Table of Contents

Before There Was a Daniel
by Hayden H. Huston
Earliest People in the Daniel Area, Rendezvous, Captain Bonneville, Pinckney Sublette, Father Pierre Jean DeSmet

From Trails to Highways1905 Mail
by Hayden H. Huston
The Way to Daniel, The Road to Daniel, Early Mail Service

The Town Begins
by Hayden H. Huston
Early History of Daniel, Earliest Homesteaders in the Daniel Area, Justice's Book, Murder of Charles Holden, The Telephone, Wolves, Early Daniel and Religion, Daniel Area Schools, Horses

Freight wagonDaniel Grows
Contributions by Hayden H. Huston, Pat Walker, Barbara Pape, Sean Reed & Jonita Sommers
Daniel Maps, Daniel, Early History of the Daniel Fish Hatchery, Daniel Fish Hatchery, Daniel's Bid for the County Seat, Daniel in the 1930s, Oregon Territory Commemorative Postage Stamp, Daniel in 1976, A Trip from Merna to Down on the Green

Pioneers and Landmark Buildings
Contributions by Pat Walker, Nita Baker Gibbens, Hayden H. Huston, Judy Blackmon Jackson & Lolly Blackmon, Dudley Key, Jane Wardell
The Angus Family, Buck Baker, My Father-Bill Baker, Barber Store Building, The History of Duey A. Blackmon and Family, The David Family, Ira and Sarah Dodge, Daniel's Oldest Building-the Green River Bar, The Joe Hausen Library, The Key Store, The Sargeants and Sargeant's Inn, The Daniel Schoolhouse, Mamie Tarter, A Bit of Yarger History.Early residents

Makin' a Livin'
Contributions by Hayden H. Huston, DeeAnn Price, Sharon David Stearn
Entrepreneurs of Early Daniel, Traeling Salesmen, Tusk Hunters, Chautauqua, Tie Hacks, Outfitting, Daniel's Prize Winners

Merna Families and Ranches
Merna Homestead Maps, Ralph Parks and E.C. Todd, The Conwell Ranch, Hamilton Family, Roberts Ranch, Huntley and Maclean, The Thompson Janch (Joe Boroff), The Gene Taylor Ranch, Floyd Briggs-Merna, Horse Creek Trust-Grace Anderson, Looney, Koch Ranch, H.R. Wagstaff Ranch, DempseyShipping woolBarron, High Mountain Ranches,Leon Hirsch, Bridger Estates, Paul Fovel Ranch, The Bain Ranch, Bill Barney-Beaver Holdings, The Duke Place, The David Ranch, Siems Ranch, Carroll James, Merna Area Schools

Bronx Families and Ranches
Compiled by Barbara Pape
Bronx Homestead Maps, Bronx Community History, Beaver Creek Ranch, Doug Vickrey's Place, Grindstone Cattle Company, Pape Ranches, Boroff Land and Livestock, Carl Brown's Green River Ranch, Bronx Area Schools, Bronx Community Club 

Burns and Daniel Families and Ranches
Compiled by Jonita Sommers
Burns and Daniel Homestead Maps, Price's Lower Place, Sommers' Ranch, Grindstone Cattle Company, Tyler Ranch, Harry Steele's Place, Price's Upper Place, Bootjack Ranch, Grubbing Hoe Ranch, Seven Mile River Ranch (Quarter Ranch lifeCircle Five Ranch), Swede McAlister's Place, The Flying V Ranch, Beard's Ranch, Swanda Ranch, Steve James' Ranch, Carroll James' and John Neely's Property, Kathy Miller's Place, Ben Pearson's Place, Miller Land and Livestock, Kenny James' Place, Price, Price/Sommers, River Glade, Tyler, Tyler/Morison, Morison Schools

Epilogue
By Rhonda Swain

Appendices
Compiled by Hayden H. Huston
Daniel Cemetery
Daniel Area Census 1900-1920
Daniel & Merna Voters 1900-1946
School Census 1908-1912

Pictures from the Daniel Social, February 2001

Proceeds from book sales will go towards restoration, upkeep and improvements of the 1920 Daniel Schoolhouse, which is now used for Daniel community activities. Donations are tax deductable. Copies of these books will be available at the Sublette County Public Library in Big Piney and Pinedale. Photos have been scanned and will be soon available on CD and on the web.

For more information, please contact:

Daniel Community Center
PO Box 311 
Daniel, WY 83115

The DCC is a non-profit organization.

Photo Credits: "Daniel Lane" courtesy of the Museum of the Mountain Man John F. Walter (WYDOT) Collection."Early Mail-1905" from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. "Freight Wagon 1917-1918" from Hayden Houston collection. "Mickey Adams & Friends" from the Paul Allen collection. "Lester Pape with Wool Ready to Ship" from Barbara Pape. "Living Room at the Lester Pape Home" from Barbara Pape. All photos copyright, 2000. All rights reserved. May not be used without permission.

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