Mind Blowing Things That Happened In Wyoming On July 4th

History buffs are going to love this.

The Wyoming Almanac website lists historic events that took place in Wyoming on the 4th of July.

Wyoming has been holding special 4th of July events all over the region as far back as 1835.

Settlers knew that if they could make it to Independence Rock by the 4th, they would be halfway along on their journey and where they needed to be to get to where they were going before winter set it.

Below is a list of other historic Wyoming 4th events according to the website Wyoming Almanac.

Some of these historical events will blow your mind

1. Missionary Marcus Whitman led a patriotic prayer service at South Pass en route to Oregon—the first recorded Fourth of July observance in Wyoming (1835)

2. 1st official meeting of Masonic Lodge in Wyoming, Independence Rock (1862)

3. The army abandoned Fort Halleck, Carbon County (1866)

4. Cheyenne named by Gen. Grenville Dodge (1867)

5. First recorded holiday baseball games in Wyoming, South Pass v. Atlantic City; “Wyoming Club” of Fort Sanders beat the Laramie City team 43-26 (1870)

6. Bates Battle fought near the Big Horn Mountains between 268 soldiers and Shoshones against about 400 Arapahoes and allies (1874)

7. The first bicycle in Laramie demonstrated to the curious public (1876)

8. General George Crook and staff, hiking in the Big Horns, awoke to find frost covering the ground and ice formed on standing water (1876)

9. Six-horse stagecoach robbed one mile inside the north border of Yellowstone on the way to Mammoth (1887)

10. English novelist Rudyard Kipling rode into Yellowstone Park in a stagecoach (1888)

11. Converse County rodeo rider “Jerky Bill” rode the meanest bronc in the area to a standstill, Glenrock (1888)

12. The first climb made of Devils Tower, was witnessed by 800 people at a picnic below (1893)

13. First climb made of Devils Tower by a woman, Mrs. William Rogers (1895)

14. Duncan Hines, a Wells Fargo agent (later, a renowned food critic) ate what he described as his “most memorable meal” at Harry Hynds’ cafe in Cheyenne (1899)

15. The first automobile made its appearance in Lusk. The driver sold rides for 25 cents. “The chuck-chuck got away with a large and juicy bundle of filthy lucre,” the Lusk Herald reported (1906)

16. The Comet, the first steamboat to operate on the Green River, launched at Green River (1908)

17. The first airplane flight in Wyoming, Gillette (1911)

18. Buffalo Bill statue by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney dedicated in a ceremony, Cody (1924)

19. 6,000 people heard a performance by Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Wagnerian contralto, Wyoming State Fairgrounds, Douglas (1924)

20. A flood near Edgerton washed out five houses at the “Canadian camp” as well as a highway bridge and a railroad bridge (1926)

21. A pageant of historic events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Laramie was performed in the field owned by Maggie Coughlin, just north of town. Thousands watched, many from cars parked on the brow of the hill just beyond W Hill (1928)

22. Oregon Trail Centennial celebrated at Independence Rock (1930)

23. Artist Thomas Hart Benton attended the Saratoga rodeo with student Glen Rounds and told organizers he was a Denver Post reporter so he could get close to the action. He later painted scenes of the rodeo (1930)

24. Lost Springs, the nation’s smallest town designated a “Bicentennial Community,” celebrated the Fourth and a British Broadcasting Company film crew recorded the event (1976)

25. Harry Jackson’s statue of Sacajawea unveiled, Cody (1980)

26. One-third of an inch of snow fell at Yellowstone Lake (1983)

27. Dedication held of reconstruction of “Old Fort Bridger” (1987)28. Snow fell in Laramie, and accumulations in nearby mountains (1993)