While you’d expect big shows in Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, one state is getting ready to have a massive blowout to celebrate the nation’s upcoming sesquicentennial. Wyoming is saddling up for America’s 250th birthday with the kind of celebration only the Cowboy State could pull off—a sweeping, statewide tribute to its frontier roots. From outlaw lore to wagon trails, the anniversary will spotlight the grit and mythology that forged the American West.
Funded with $2 million from the legislature, the state’s semiquincentennial committee is planning a yearlong lineup of rodeos, re-creations, and historical tours, reports The Cowboy State Daily. “What we’re seeing now is people really showing an interest in America’s history,” said Piper Singer of the Wyoming Office of Tourism. “But I think Wyoming just has a unique story—with Yellowstone being the first National Park, Devils Tower the first National Monument, and women here the first to vote.”
A national ad campaign will promote the events. “As we commemorate 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Wyoming invites you to join us in a year-long celebration filled with exciting events, educational activities and cultural festivities. Whether you’re a local resident or a visitor from afar, our Fourth of July events and Declaration of Independence Day activities promise to be unforgettable,” the website for the events reads.
Historic sites like Independence Rock and Fort Laramie anchor the narrative, joined by legendary names—Jim Bridger, Butch Cassidy, Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Sacajawea, and Chief Washakie. Cheyenne Frontier Days, founded in 1897, remains the world’s largest outdoor rodeo.
Fueled by pop-culture hits like Yellowstone and Longmire, Wyoming’s Western spirit is enjoying a revival. “It really feels like we’re not doing anything new, because this has always been the foundation of Wyoming,” Singer said.
Local projects are adding fresh flair: a digital scavenger hunt in Wind River, cowboy-poetry festivals in Grand Encampment, murals in Thayne, and a virtual Oregon Trail experience at Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park. Nearly 40 state grants have funded community events from historical restorations to veteran tributes.
In Kaycee, a new marker will honor rancher Nate Champion, who died in the 1892 Johnson County War after holding off hired gunmen. “They had already gotten away with (murder),” said Laurel Foster of the Hoofprints of the Past Museum.
Champion’s dying words still echo: “They have just got through shelling the house like hail. I heard them splitting wood… Goodbye, boys, if I never see you again.”
For Foster, that spirit defines Wyoming’s story. “The Western spirit never really died,” she said. “It just needed a reason to ride again.”
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