Wyoming Firsts      

First Business West of the Missouri River: In 1834, Fort William was erected at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers by veteran fur traders William Sublette and Robert Campbell. Thus, the first trading post west of the Missouri River was established.

First Women to Vote: John A. Campbell, Wyoming’s first Territorial Governor, signed a bill December 10, 1869 making Wyoming the first state to grant women the right to vote.

First Woman Justice of the Peace: Esther Hobart Morris was appointed February 17, 1870 in South Pass City.

First All Woman Jury: The first all woman jury was sworn in March 7, 1870 in Laramie.

First Woman Bailiff: In 1870, Mary Symons - Boies - Atkinson of Albany County was appointed the first woman bailiff in the world.

First National Park: In 1872, Congress named Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming as the first national park in the world.

First State to Have a County Public Library System: The Laramie County Public Library System was organized in August of 1886.

First National Forest: By an Act signed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1891, Shoshone National Forest became the first national forest. Wyoming now has 9 national forests.

First Ranger Station: Wapiti Ranger Station was established in the Shoshone National Forest in 1891.

First Woman Statewide Elected Official: Estelle Reel Meyer was elected as Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1894.

First National Monument: Devils Tower in northeastern Wyoming was designated the first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

First Town in America to be Governed Entirely by Women: The city of Jackson, from 1920 to 1921, had a woman mayor, town council and town marshall. One of the councilwomen defeated her husband for her council seat.

First Artificially Lit Evening Football Game: The first interscholastic football game to be played under artificial light took place in Midwest, Wyoming in 1925.

First Woman Governor in the U.S.: Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected to complete the term of her husband who died in office. She served from 1925 to 1927. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her the first woman to head the U.S. Mint, a position she held until 1953.