Buffalo Tales: Stories from Wyoming History

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is common in the Cowboy State. Energy companies use this technique to access hard-to-reach oil and natural gas deposits. While modern fracking uses mixtures of sand, water, and various chemicals, a proposed project in the early 1970s sought to use something else...atomic weapons. Project Wagon Wheel was one of several proposals for using atomic fission devices fo...

In 1919, the United States Army organized a road trip across the United States that few people know about today. Several hundred soldiers, including a young Dwight Eisenhower, took trucks, cars, motorcycles, and a custom-built wrecker called the "Militor" from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco. The convoy crossed 14 states during their 62-day journey across the Lincoln Highway. Their ro...

John and Jeremy return for the second part of the Tale of Big Nose George. Part two starts in the aftermath of Dutch Charley's final ride. They look at George's activities following the Elk Mountain Murders, ending with his trial, botched escape, and hanging in Rawlins. John and Jeremy also share the events culminating in a pair of shoes made from George's tanned hide. This episode...

Murders, Vigilante Justice, and an odd pair of shoes. John and Jeremy begin the tale of one of Wyoming's most infamous outlaws, Big Nose George Parrot. In the first of a two-part series, our hosts explore how a botched train robbery in the summer of 1878 began a chain of increasingly violent and macabre events in Southern Wyoming. Part one of the tale explores the infamous Elk Mountain Murder...

Fisticuffs and politics? Politics in Wyoming can be heated at times but is usually sedate.  But not always... Join Jeremy and John as they chat about the wildest day in the history of the Wyoming Legislature. This red-letter day in 1913 during the 12th Wyoming Legislature included a riot on the floor of the Wyoming House of Representatives. List in as our intrepid historians explore the events tha...

John & Jeremy are back after a short hiatus. On this episode, we're heading to Sheridan and Campbell Counties for a murder. In 1928, a man walked into Sheridan and confessed to killing his father-in-law. The story spread across Wyoming in a matter of days, especially when the trial began shortly afterward. We have changed some of the names in this story since family members still reside i...

On the morning of July 26, 1865, Lieutenant Caspar Collins and Commissary Sergeant Amos Custard rode into the history books during the Battles of Platte Bridge Station and Red Buttes. These small battles left an indelible mark on the history of Central Wyoming and especially the City of Casper, Wyoming.  Join Jeremy and John as they explore these important battles...and how the City of Casper got...

Spirit Mountain Cave, located west of Cody, Wyoming, has an interesting story. Discovered in the early 1900s, it became the state's second National Monument in 1909. Largely ignored by the Federal Government, the cave became an issue for Cody-area residents who sought local control over the site. Their desires became a reality in 1954. However, local boosters' and concessionaries' d...