Laramie, WY – Not yet told anywhere else…the story of University of Wyoming’s College of Agriculture Experiment Station’s history in a new permanent exhibit entitled “Science on the Range” unveils the importance and impact of cutting-edge, scientific research at the “Stock Farm” that changed farming and ranching in Wyoming and around the world.

On April 28 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm the public is invited to the dedication of an exciting new exhibit at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site located at 979 Snowy Range Road in Laramie.  “This exhibit reveals the story of the research community that lived, studied and worked here at the Experiment Station for 86 years.” Deborah Amend, Site Superintendent says. “Their efforts resulted in greater economic returns and quality of life for Wyoming citizens.”

That unique history is shown through historic photographs, artifacts and interactive displays.

This Free event will include several activities for children and adults to enjoy including Percheron and Belgium draft horses on site giving wagon rides as well as “Wyoming Ag in the Classroom” display, “A Taste of Wyoming” snacks and “Don’t be Fleeced: Get Smart about Wool” activity. There will be free drawings for several SmartWool products provided by Sierra Trading Post and the first 30 kids attending will receive a free “Science on the Range” T-Shirt.

When the Prison closed in 1903, the University of Wyoming acquired the property and embarked on a remarkable venture adapting the land and buildings for use as an agricultural experiment station that lasted until 1989.  Researchers made significant contributions that focused on livestock genetics and reproduction, nutrition, altitude and environmental issues and productivity.  Crop and soil research focused on developing solutions for profitable and sustainable agricultural practices.  Quality of UW’s livestock breeding program gained international recognition and livestock were shipped throughout the United States and overseas.

“This exhibit gives attention to a portion of the Wyoming Territorial Prison’s site history that truly made a difference in the state.” Misty Stoll, Site Curator says, “The sheer volume of research and breeding projects that were overseen here is astonishing – and their results impacted every single person that might come through the exhibit.”

The grand opening of this new exhibit coincides with Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails’ 75^th Anniversary this year which is Celebrating Wyoming’s Natural and Cultural Heritage.

For more information about this event or other Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site’s programs please visit http://www.wyomingterritorialprison.com or call 307-745-3733.

At the Wyoming Territorial Prison

August 20, 2011

Events begin at 9:00 A.M and run all day tell 5:00 P.M.

State Site fees apply Adults= $5.00,   Teens 12-17= $2.50,  Children 11 & under =Free

• Paint a collectible Breyer horse model, and take it home! 9:00- tell all Breyer Horses are gone!
• Parade of breeds, riders in traditional costume 10:00-12:00
• Breeds on site will include Andalusian, Arabian,Morgan,Thoroughbred, Quarter horses, Hanoverian, Mustang, Irish Draft, Mules, Curly Pinto, Paint, Mini horse, Shire, Trakehner, Tiny baby donkeys and more. 9:00-5:00
• Horse trailer tours 9:00- 5:00
• Horse drawn wagon rides & roping activities 12:00-4:00
• Stall cleaning demonstration 12:05-12:25
• Horse nutrition talk (Land O’Lakes Purina) 12:30
• Farrier demonstration- horse shoeing 2:30
• Veterinary demonstrations ( featuring portable bone scanning technology) 1:00
• Horse sense- horse safety 1:30
• Hands-on horse grooming and petting (get up close to an 18 hand shire horse!) 1:30-3:30
• U. of Wyoming archaeology presentation on early horse ancestors. 2:00
• Ready for show- horse clothes, horse grooming, horse main braiding demonstrations 3:00
• Free drawing: Grand prize is a collectible Breyer Horse! 4:30

HORSING AROUND KIDS’ EXPO TO BE HELD AT WYOMING TERRITORIAL PRISON THIS SATURDAY

Laramie, WY. Wyoming is about horses…even our state license plate celebrates the horse. The Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site will be holding its annual Horsing Around Kids’ Expo this Saturday, August 20 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  The expo will feature a number of events ranging from hands-on horse grooming to a University of Wyoming archaeology presentation on the early horse ancestors.  “The image of the horse has changed; they are no longer a work horse just for cowboys.” says Deborah Amend, Superintendent. “This Kids Xtreme event will be fun and entertaining while educating children about horses.  Come paint a Breyer horse for free, help groom a horse, learn about the science of the horse and watch a riding demonstration!”Other events at the Kids’ Expo include: a parade of different horse breeds with riders in traditional costume, baby donkeys for children, a hands-on horse grooming and petting event, a display of skills by farriers in the art of fixing, shaping and fitting horse shoes and a veterinary display.   Breeds that will be on site will include: Andalusian, Arabian, Morgan Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Hanoverian, Mustang, Irish Draft and many others. The Wyoming Territorial Prison was not only an historic site that was noteworthy for its incarceration of outlaws such as the legendary bandit, Butch Cassidy, in its early years, but also for its time as a University of Wyoming Experiment Station from 1903 to 1989.  The station was used by professors and students for the study of crops and livestock and was an important breeding facility for horses and other animals. “The Wyoming Territorial Prison prides itself on having such a rich history.  It has represented many things to many people over the last century.  Keeping that history alive for Wyoming citizens and visitors from around the world is a huge priority for us as we move forward with new exhibits and new events this year and into the future,” says Amend.  “The Horsing Around Kids Expo is not only a wonderful family friendly event, but an event that will be of interest to anyone with an interest in agriculture and the ranching life-style of the American West.” Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, 975 Snowy Range Rd, Laramie, WY  Open daily 9am – 6pm. Admission charged for event.  Adults- $5, Ages 12-17- $2.50 and children under the age of 11- Free.

For more information on the Horsing Around Kids Expo  call (307) 745-3733.

A reading and signing by the author, Steven S. Drachman Of his novel which is set in part in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in 1874

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 6:00 P.M.

Wyoming Territorial Prison Dining Hall

Watt O’Hugh III is a self-made man, Civil War vet, time roamer, former orphan of the New York slums and dime novel hero of the lost, magical west of the 1870′s-and his riotous adventures mark one of the most original literary fantasy novels in recent memory.

When O’Hugh returns to New York as the star of a wild west show, he thinks his ship has come in . But that’s before he wakes in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie facing a murder charge, a corrupt Wall street banker turned outlaw and a 2000-year-old Chinese mystery that could change the world forever.

Steven S. Drachman has written for the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Phoenix, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice and The Chicago Sun-Times.

Free Public Event on April 28 to Include Exhibit Dedication and Ribbon Cutting, Draft Horses, Wagon Rides and Hands on Research Activities

Laramie, WY- The Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site will be opening a new permanent exhibit highlighting the history of the University of Wyoming Experiment Station Stock Farm. The exhibit, entitled “Science on the Range” will open at the Territorial Prison on Saturday, April 28 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and is free to the public.

Site Superintendent, Ms. Deborah Amend says, “We invite the public to come to this educational and fun event on April 28. In addition to the exhibit’s opening, ribbon cutting and dedication, we will have wagon rides for children, hands on research activities and Percheron and Belgian draft horses on site.”

The University of Wyoming College of Agriculture occupied the former Wyoming Territorial Prison grounds from 1903 to 1989 as the Experiment Station Stock Farm. Researchers at the Stock farm made important inroads in livestock breeding, crop research and wool manufacturing. When a large number of sheep and cattle died in 1912 from a rash of poisoning incidents from plants such as death camas and woody aster, Stock Farm staff quickly responded by disseminating information to Wyoming ranchers and farmers about ways to avoid future incidents.

Site Curator Mrs. Misty Stoll states, “Changing farming and ranching techniques in Wyoming and around the world, the Stock Farm was an integral part of the Cowboy State’s history and heritage. The saga of the Stock Farm has been told nowhere else before. This exhibit’s grand opening at the Wyoming Territorial Prison should be educational and fun for all who come to it.”

Exhibit Details
Installed in the 100-year-old Horse Barn, visitors will learn about the importance of agricultural experiments in the context of the state, the country, and the world. Crops and animals were the focus of research for professors and students and their findings were published and distributed for agriculturalists who sought efficiency and improved product. In addition to research on parasites and food, the Station kept exemplary breeding stock in hogs, horses, sheep, and cattle.

The exhibit features a strong focus on the Percheron horses that were bred and kept on site. Visitors can compare their size to full-size Percheron silhouette and experience the sights and smells of a horse barn and working agricultural station at the sound and smell stations. The more adventurous can feel what it’s like to take a rumen sample from the “interactive cow” and learn about exactly how the fatal Death Camas affects test animals: “vomiting, claws mouth, spasmodic twitching,retching, jumping, gagging, squealing…”

Finally, visitors can tour the “Homestead Exhibit” and see an example of the kind of place that benefited from Experiment Station Research. A historic cabin, school house, and barn would have been the setting of implemented methods that were developed at the Station, and which ultimately made agricultural business more successful, and life on the ranch a little easier.

Admission: Adults-$5.00, Teens 12-17 $2.50, Kids 11 & under are Free

 Events and activities

• Kids’ stick horse rodeo                                                          
• Money hunt
• Ingram trick roping
• Kids’ tractor rides
• Vintage Cars and tractor display
• Lopez leather demonstration
• Ol’ time prison photos taken inside prison
• Rattlesnake Jake musical entertainment
• Nationally known Butch Cassidy historian, Larry Pointer, author “In Search of Butch Cassidy”
• Butch Cassidy debate  
• Food
• Baseball toss with Laramie Colts baseball team
• The Great Escape! kids’ prison break
• Llamas and 4-H animals
• Chicken Bingo
• Museum tours and skits
• Broom making

*Horse herpes outbreak in West grows

• This event is FREE to the public.

• Tickets will go on sale  Saturday October 1st.
• Tickets are $10 each.
• Payment in full is required in making your reservations.
• Time slots fill up fast so please call or come down to the Territorial Prison to reserve tickets ahead of time.
• Tickets are kept in will call and you will receive them when you come to take your ghost tour.
• There are six tours a night starting at 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30.
• For safety reasons, there is a limit of 35-40 people for each tour.
• Ghost tours are not recommended for children under the age of 7.
• To purchase tickets/ make reservations with a credit card over the phone call (307)745-6161 Ext. 12

GRAND RE-OPENING

Our grand re-opening for the Broom Factory on May 2 was a huge success with close to 1,000 visitors. Read more about it here.