Welcome To Arminto Wyoming, Population 5

When driving the back roads of Wyoming you'll find the names of towns that have vanished into the landscape.

Something was there once.

Today, you might find a few people who remember something about a town being there.

Sometimes you'll find a town that is almost gone, but not quite yet.

That's what happened when I drove down Wyoming's County Road 105. A back road made of gravel and only paved at either end.

On the map was the listing for a town named Arminto.

Population 5

The lone backroad that I was on crossed a railroad track.

Click here to see the entire town, from above, on Google Earth.

It was obvious that, despite being out in the middle of NOWHERE, something once took place here.

Arminto was built as a stop on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and was named for Manuel Armenta who started the nearby Jack Pot Ranch.

 

Arminto voted to incorporate in 1915; unincorporated towns could not sell liquor in Wyoming at the time.

Although Arminto is now unincorporated, it had a post office, that closed in 1964.

 

The Big Horn Hotel was moved from Wolton to Arminto in 1913 when the railroad arrived there.

 

It was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and was destroyed by a fire in 1985. (Wikipedia).

Looks like there used to be a gas station and store here.

There is the remains of a sign, to the right.

Despite its low population, Arminto is still considered an unincorporated community in northwestern Natrona County, Wyoming.

It's located west of Casper in Natrona County.

Its elevation is 6,053 feet.

Few buildings are occupied.

All but one are old and falling apart.

Yet some are still lived in, despite their condition.

What the HECK are these people doing out here?

This old gentleman lives in the one nice house in town.

It's a small place.

WOW, he has a nice car.

He said hello and went back to cooking his dinner over the grill on his front porch.

The last time the little community made any news was back in 2001 when two trains collided right in front of the tiny town.

A Burlington Northern and Santa Fe engineer was killed when his train struck an idle train.

A seventh car partially derailed.

The engineer killed was Mike Hoover, 48. The train had no other crew.

This house is occupied. It has a new roof and electrical hookup.

Land must be cheap in this town.

Maybe that's why these people still live here.

Sometimes people stay in an area because it's where they grew up. It's all they know and they are comfortable where they are.

Guess they don't have to worry much about crime out here.

This little house, below, is also occupied.

Some of the old homes here used to be quite nice.

That was a long time ago.

Today they are being reclaimed by nature.

But it makes a person wonder who lived here, and why.

Back then it was mostly because of the railroad.

Today, it has a lot to do with working for the natural gas industry.

There are wells all over, just outside of town.

The folks who choose to live out in a place like this must be good at making their own fun.

Everybody knows everybody, that's for sure.