Douglas Historic Preservation Commission
Preserving the History of Douglas, Wyoming for
Future Generations...
Next Meeting, March 17th, 2009 at the Pioneer Museum
Mission Statement: The purpose of the DHP Commission shall be to promote historic preservation and awareness, to conduct cultural resource surveys, propose entries to the National Register of Historic Places, designated historic districts, and to act as advisors on matters of historic preservation and information
Last Updated:
February 2009
2009 - Pioneer Cemetery
1886 through 1902
The DHCP is working on a large marker to designate all those who have
passed and are buried in the land originally known as Poverty Flats in the late
1800's. We are using remote sensing tools to determine which graves
are occupied and which ones were moved to the current city's cemetery.
Here is an excerpt of very detailed research done by Sharon Lass Fields, click here to read in it's entirety (you'll need the free Adobe Reader):
"Douglas’ first cemetery was established shortly after the founding of “Antelope”, an end-of-track tent town that arose in the spring of 1886 near the confluence of Antelope Creek and the North Platte River. A graveyard was started on “Poverty Flats”, a patch of prairie a short distance north of the tent town. In June, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad announced that its new station and town site were to be placed one mile further south, on the east side of the North Platte. In early August, the Western Town Lot Company laid out the present town site of Douglas, named in honor of statesman Stephen A. Douglas. In spite of this move, the cemetery was utilized for sixteen years, from 1886 to 1902. The first burial apparently was A. H. Meyers, the victim of a gunfight, on August 10, 1886..."
Halloween Haunted Cemetery Tour 2007...
We are in the process of discussing a Halloween-History tour of the
Douglas Cemetery. Those wishing to learn more about their town's
history or those willing to become a local historical character for the
night, please call Tony at (358-1878).
Downtown
Historic Ordinance...
John Crisp (DHPC member) is working on a historic ordinance that will
protect the integrity as well as provide a set of guidelines for new
construction in our existing historical areas. We'll know more
soon and will post details on the website.
Hog Ranch Highway Turnoff Marker...
Betsy Flaherty (DHPC member) is working with the highway department to
design and install a highway lookout sign for the historic Hog Ranch.
The establishment which was located at Fort Fetterman, was one of the
most notorious and rowdiest hog ranches in the State.
Odd Fellows Building...
Our last DHPC meeting was held at the Odd Fellows Building which was the
Prisoner of War camp during WWII. It is an amazing part of our
town that not many realize was here. Imagine life with a POW camp
across the river, with prisoners working day-shifts for many local
ranches. The artwork is still visible inside the large building on
Riverbend. There is talk of preserving this building for the
future. We'll know more soon of the it's plans and will post it
here.
Downtown Building Plaques...
Our current project for the DHPC is obtaining plaques to place on many
of the historic downtown businesses. We have had a great response
from those we've talked to regarding the project.
Downtown Historic District...
We are in the process of finding signs to designate our downtown
historic areas that will be more visable then the current ones posted
throughout the northern part of downtown.
May is...MAY IS...NATIONAL HISTORIC
PRESERVATION MONTH (2007)!!!
This May we took out
five consecutive ads in the Douglas Budget publishing a story about our
town's history. From the song written by one of our founding
citizens to the story of tent town (precursor to Douglas), we hope
everyone delighted in reading a (hopefully) new and interesting part of
our town's past.
MAY IS...NATIONAL HISTORIC
PRESERVATION MONTH (2006)!!!
WHERE AM I?
The Douglas Historic Preservation Commission along with the City of
Douglas has been running ads in our local newspaper to bring awareness
to National Historic Preservation Month. In the first three weeks
of May, we have run these photos. All are of the same property at
different time periods (1886, 1930s/40s, today). We are hoping to
draw attention to the architecture we once had downtown, so that it
stays for future generations...
HELP US PRESERVE OUR PAST
Winners:
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Week 1:
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Week 2:
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HISTORIC BARS OF DOWNTOWN DOUGLAS!
(Left: College Inn Bar, early 1900s)
We are currently working on two projects for the Historic Preservation Commission. One, we are hoping to buy historic plaques that coincide with the Downtown Walking Tour brochure for the many historic businesses that are still operating in our great town today!
The second project is trying to find and preserve historic photos of the many bars that once filled the downtown area. At one time, we've heard that as many as thirteen bars were operating in the early days of Douglas! If you or anyone you know has an old photograph, we'd love to get a copy of it for our website. And, if you recognize a family member, friend or could tell us any information on any of our pictures, we'd love the help! Send us an email and we'll post your picture and your comments about any of our current photos. Please help us preserve Douglas's past for future generations!
Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 DHPC
City of Douglas, Wyoming