Interesting Facts
- On September 2, 1885, a group of white coal miners attacked and killed 28 of their Chinese coworkers, wounded 15 others, and torched 79 of their homes in Rock Springs. None of the perpetrators—who had been angered by the refusal of Chinese miners to join in a strike for better wages, and by the Union Pacific Coal Company’s decision to allow the Chinese to work a lucrative part of the mine—were ever convicted for the brutal massacre.
- Henry Longabaugh received the nickname “Sundance Kid” after serving time in prison between 1887 and 1889 for stealing a horse in Sundance, Wyoming. He later met Butch Cassidy and joined the notorious Wild Bunch.
- President Theodore Roosevelt designated Devils Tower—a natural rock formation resulting from a volcanic intrusion and a sacred site for many Plains Indians—the first national monument in the U.S. on September 24, 1906.
- In 1949, a massive blizzard blanketed Wyoming, killing 17 people, 55,000 cattle and 105,000 sheep.
- Wyoming is the leading producer of coal in the United States; in 2010, the state produced 40 percent of the nation’s total.
