Guide to the William S. Sopris Photograph Collection

Collection

Identifier: P2024-11

Staff Only

Content Description

Large group of nitrate negatives. Amatuer photographs, many of which appear to be taken in the Sheridan area. Most appear to be of family or friends, a few have local events like rodeos. Some images of commercial downtowns, cowboys, mountain mining towns, baseball, and rural landscapes.

Dates

1930s

Biographical / Historical

William S. Sopris (1897-1979), was born in Trinidad, Colorado, to US Congressman William R. Sopris. He was raised in the Washington, DC, area. He briefly attended West Point but was dismissed when it came to light that he was only 16. His career as a professional baseball player was also cut short when his mother nullified his contract with the Washington Senators because he was still underage.

From there, he moved to Billings, Montana, where he worked for the newspaper, then to Sheridan, Wyoming, as the labor relations coordinator for Holly Sugar. While in Sheridan, Sopris was an advertising specialist for the local paper and stage and vaudville productions. He also played on local sports teams, including the Independents baseball team, and refereed wrestling, basketball, and boxing.

Sopris married Carmen McClure in Sheridan in 1917. The couple had two daughters: Vivian Eileen and Colleen. They divorced in Sheridan in 1933.

In 1951, Sopris moved to Bremerton, Washington, where he worked for 16 years in the retail advertising department of the Bremerton Sun newspaper. That year, he married Wilma Daniels of Seattle. Wilma died in 1972.

In 1978, he moved to Monroe, Washington, to be closer to one daughter. Sopris died there in 1979.