The Wyoming Monuments and Markers Program is a partnership and cooperative effort among the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources (SPCR), the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), Wyoming Office of Tourism, the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes, other agencies, local governments, and private individuals and organizations. The Monuments and Markers Program installs new historical markers and maintains existing monuments, markers, and interpretive signage. The public can participate in this program in several ways: proposing new signage, participating in the Stewardship Program, and joining meetings of the Monuments and Markers Advisory Committee (MMAC).

Per Wyoming state statute (§ 9-2-414, § 9-2-415 and, § 36-4-108), SPCR approves text for all new signage, oversees text changes for existing signage, erects new signage, inspects and repairs monuments and markers, and maintains a database of existing signage. WYDOT authorizes the location of new signage along state highways, assists in the inspection of monuments and markers, and coordinates with SPCR to relocate signage because of highway improvements.

History of the Monuments and Markers Program

Wyoming boasts one of the oldest monuments and markers program in the nation. At a time when few thought to mark history, interested and concerned residents of Wyoming realized the need to commemorate the past. These people placed monuments and markers that served to preserve a piece of the state’s heritage.

While the creation of the Wyoming Historical Landmarks Commission formally established a markers program in 1927, marking historic points actually began more than fifty years earlier. In 1875, the Union Pacific Railroad Company erected the Ames Monument, a 60-foot stone monument located at the original summit of the transcontinental railroad. The monument memorializes Oakes and Oliver Ames, brothers from Massachusetts, whose wealth and influence played an important role in the construction of the Union Pacific line through Wyoming.

The Union Pacific may have been the first to place a marker in Wyoming, but it was Ezra Meeker, an Oregon Trail veteran, who built support for marking important pieces of that great westward highway. Ezra Meeker was born in Huntsville, Ohio in 1830 and traveled over the Oregon Trail in 1852 with his wife. Meeker felt that the Oregon Trail was a “symbol of the heroism, the patriotism, the vision, and the sacrifices of the pioneers who had won the West for America.”

Twenty-two monuments and markers existed along the Trail when Meeker began a campaign to mark points in March 1906. By 1908, Meeker had succeeded in either directly or indirectly erecting 150 monuments. Inspired by Meeker’s actions, the Oregon Trail Memorial Association formed. Meeker served as the Association’s first president and helped to promote the Memorial Coin Bill. This bill authorized the creation and sale of Oregon Trail Memorial Fifty-Cent Pieces. The proceeds went to funding new signs. When Meeker died in 1928, the Association carried on his passion and vision for marking sites along the Trail.

The Oregon Trail Association and the State of Wyoming made good partners. The Association worked with many state leaders such as Governor Frank Emerson, Grace Raymond Hebard, Clarence B. Richardson, and others. This amiable relationship accomplished preservation goals for both sides.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) began marking historic places in 1908 and is responsible for many of the markers seen today. Also active within the DAR, Grace Raymond Hebard worked to mark the Oregon Trail before it vanished. In 1913, with the support of the Sons of the American Revolution and other interested Wyoming residents, the DAR introduced a bill to the Twelfth State Legislature that passed and created the Wyoming Oregon Trail Commission. To accompany the establishment of the Commission, the Legislature also appropriated $2500 for the purchase and installation of markers. Subsequent legislatures appropriated $500 at each session.

Mrs. H. B. Patten, the first secretary of the Oregon Trail Commission recorded descriptions of every marker installed by both the Commission and the DAR. Her reports provide a helpful record for the state’s first historical markers. In the Commission’s first two years, from 1913-1914, they marked 24 sites. They dedicated another 20 to 25 markers in the next two years. World War I slowed their marking progress as they turned to the war effort and very few markers were placed. The Oregon Trail Commission dedicated their last marker in September of 1920 at the Wagon Box Fight.

The Wyoming Historical Landmark Commission grew out of the desire of many citizens to preserve the deteriorating Fort Laramie. On February 26, 1927, Governor Frank C. Emerson appointed the first members of the newly formed Wyoming Historical Landmark Commission; Robert Ellison of Casper, Joseph S. Weppner of Rock Springs, Warren Richardson of Cheyenne, Mrs. Cyrus Beard of Cheyenne, and Dan Greenburg of Casper. The making of the Commission created a means for acquiring, marking, and preserving historic sites and monuments in Wyoming. The Commission was also given the power to evaluate sites, recommend them for acquisition, and appoint an advisory committee in each county. The Commission succeeded in acquiring many sites of historical importance, including Fort Bridger and Fort Reno. Generally, these privately owned sites were donated to the State of Wyoming. Eventually, the Historical Landmark Commission also aided in the purchase of Fort Laramie, which the State of Wyoming then turned over to the federal government, who made it a National Historic Site in 1938. The Wyoming Historical Landmark Commission operated until 1959, when its duties were turned over to the Wyoming State Archives, Museum and Historical Department.

The State Archives, Museum and Historical Department worked closely with the State Historical Society and its local chapters. They sponsored a historical marker style and design contest, which the Campbell County Chapter won with their design featuring a 4’ x 6’ wooden sign with text carved into it. This design template lasts into the present.

The “Wyoming Historical Sites and Markers and Museums,” brochure, featuring 208 historical markers, 115 historic sites, and 25 museums, was published in 1962. Also in that year, the State Parks Commission began working with the Archives and Historical Department. The Parks Commission installed and maintained the signs, while the Archives and Historical Department did research and drafted text. From 1959 to 1966, 56 markers were placed.

In July of 1967, the Wyoming Legislature created the Wyoming Recreation Commission. This Commission was created in response to the passing of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966, which required each state to establish a state historic preservation officer. The preservation officer operated within the Historic Section of the Recreation Commission and was responsible for the management of the monuments and markers throughout the state. The State Historic Preservation Office was transferred to the Archives, Museum and Historical Department in 1985.

Today, the Wyoming Monuments and Markers Program operates through a partnership between SPCR, WYDOT, Wyoming Office of Tourism, local governments, Tribes and private individuals and organizations. Within the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the Division of State Parks, Historic Sites, and Trails and the State Historic Preservation Office share responsibilities for creating and maintaining signs.