Weston County, Wyoming Overview and Description

Weston County, Wyoming
County Overview and Description

Weston County was organized in 1890, and was named after a gentleman of that name, who was interested in building the Burlington railroad through that section of the state. It is 100 miles long by forty-eight miles wide, comprising 3,133,440 acres, and has a population of 3,604. The total assessed valuation of all kinds of property in 1906 was $1,904,700.56, divided as follows: Farm lands and improvements, $338,224.65; town lots and improvements, $127,270.00; cattle, $438,204.00; horses, $102,026.00; sheep, $324,475.50.

Weston County, although enjoying an altitude between 4,000 and 5,000 feet above the sea level and possessing good soils, is not so well watered as other sections of the state, owing to the absence of large streams having their sources in the lofty mountains of the snowy ranges. The rainfall, however, is considerably greater than at a higher altitude, averaging from eighteen to twenty inches per annum. The dark, loamy soils, in part of the county, are quite productive without irrigation, and the reddish gypsum soils found at the base of table lands retain the moisture and are very fertile. Precipitation is mainly in the spring and early summer, and crops make rapid progress from germination to maturity. Wild fruits of the smaller varieties, such as plums, gooseberries, currants and strawberries, grow plentifully. All the farm products known in the northern latitudes are produced in this region, even Indian corn, and the yield is most excellent. Wheat of the spring varieties yields over fifty bushels, rye over forty, oats seventy to even one hundred bushels, and corn, of the flint, dent and squaw varieties, also makes good returns. Timothy, alfalfa, red clover and other tame grasses are cultivated with success, as are also potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, carrots and sugar beets, the last named producing as high as six tons per acre, with twenty per cent of sugar, as shown by analysis. Stock growing makes an excellent accompaniment of farming throughout this region. Shorthorn, Hereford, Sussex and West Highlands cattle find favor for the range. Horses also receive much attention and are increasing in value. There is good pine timber in the Black Hills, and numerous saw mills supply the wants of the settler. Gypsum is found in inexhaustible quantities, and superior quality of building stone, granite and lime. Salt producing springs have been discovered near Jenney's Stockade, and an oil district in the same locality covers over 400 square miles. (See article on Oil.) Weston county is famous for its coal, which finds a ready market in the adjoining states of South Dakota and Nebraska, and along the line of the Burlington railroad, which traverses the entire length of the county, east and west.

Newcastle, the county seat, is a thriving town. The first building was erected in September, 1889, the Burlington railroad having reached that point in the previous month. After the discovery of coal the population grew very rapidly, and in 1900 was 756. In 1890 extensive waterworks were constructed at a cost of over $100,000 by the Cambria Mining Company, which furnish an abundant supply of water for Newcastle, Cambria and the great coal mines. A $6,000 town hall and $12,000 school building have been erected. Within the immediate vicinity are several oil wells, the first discovery being made fifteen years ago. Salt wells have been opened in the vicinity of Newcastle, and promise to develop into a large and profitable industry. All lines of business are well represented and prosperous.

Cambria is a coal mining town, the population being actively engaged in that industry. The quality of coal mined is excellent, and is described elsewhere in this publication. Modern equipment and methods are the characteristics of the mining plant. The coal here is of a coking quality, and coke ovens are in operation. The population of the Cambria district is about 1,000.

The State of Wyoming and the Experiment Station of the United States are conducting agricultural experiments near Newcastle. Much of the land in eastern Weston County can be farmed without irrigation. Wherever water can be secured crops which cannot be grown without an ample water supply can be raised, while by saving the proper seeds the.dry farmer can be successful even under ordinary farming methods, and it is seldom that a full crop is not raised.

In locating a farm it is necessary that the experiments of present residents should be considered, as not every tract of ground can be successfully farmed, some of them being too exposed for maturing grain.

The United States land office for this county is located at Sundance.
[Source: "The state of Wyoming: a book of reliable information pub. by authority of the Ninth Legislature" By Wyoming Dept. of Immigration, 1907 - Sub. by K.T.]