One hundred fifty years is a milestone worth celebrating and the Sweetwater County Historical Museum, with help from the Sweetwater County Commissioners, are commemorating the county’s inception Oct. 17.
The county was originally known as Carter County, named for Judge William Alexander Carter, by the Dakota Territorial Legislature. When the Wyoming Territory was formed in 1869, the legislature changed its name to Sweetwater County, named for the Sweetwater River. The county’s original boundaries stretched from the Colorado border to the Montana border.
After 1869, land within the county was used to create other counties and the Sweetwater River was eventually excluded from the county, being located near South Pass City in Fremont County. South Pass was the first county seat, though it was moved to Green River in 1874. As a result of land within the county being ceded to create other counties, Sweetwater County lost two-thirds of its total area. However, despite that, the county remains the largest in Wyoming and is the eighth largest county in the U.S.
A monument was commissioned earlier this year to mark the county’s 150th anniversary, with exhibits coordinator Dave Mead and the rest of the museum staff designing the monument.
“It’s a major milestone in our history, we thought it was worth commemorating,” Brie Blasi, executive director of the museum said.
Blasi said they chose to make the monument out of Dakota Granite and contracted with a Casper-based monument company to keep everything as local as they could.
She said the monument helps improve the community through its installation, helping beautify the area near the county courthouse.
“It’s about helping make a better community,” she said.
The monument will be installed near the county courthouse’s front entrance. The monument will be dedicated Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
Reader Comments(0)