Courthouses of the West: Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming. First "Woman Jury Memorial.

Courthouses of the West: Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming. First "Woman Jur...: 

Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming. First "Woman Jury" Memorial.

Memorial, MKTH photograph.

Accurate information on this event is actually fairly difficult to find.   The trial was the First Degree Murder trial of Andrew W. Howie.  The prosecutor, Albany County Attorney Stephen Downey, had only been in that role for a few months and objected to the women being seated as jurors, but was overruled by the Court, which held that as women had been granted the franchise in Wyoming, they also had the right to sit in juries.  Downey's objection was based on social convention, rather than the law.

Contrary to the way it is sometimes recounted, the jury was not all female, but half male and half female, with six women jurors.  It returned a verdict finding Mr. Howie guilty of manslaughter, which must have been included as a lessor offense in the charges.  The trial convinced Downey who in turn became a champion of women's suffrage.

This memorial is not at the Albany County Courthouse, but at the downtown railroad park.  Judicial proceedings in Laramie were originally held in a store at that location.

(Photo and reasearch by MKTH).

Ivinson Memorial Hospital, Laramie Wyoming

Residents of Laramie are well familiar with Ivinson Memorial Hospital, but may not be aware that it was originally located across from the University of Wyoming campus.

This memorial commemorates the building of the hospital in 1916, and depicts what the original structure looked like.

 

Lex Anteinternet: More bills becoming law. 2019 Wyoming Legislature. Medal of Honor Cities.

Lex Anteinternet: More bills becoming law. 2019 Wyoming Legislature....:

More bills becoming law. 2019 Wyoming Legislature.

Another selection of bills have been signed into law by Governor Gordon.

A formal bill signing has been requested for the following bills:
Bill No.	Enrolled Act #	Bill Title
SF0109	SEA No. 0061	Educational attainment executive council.
SF0115	SEA No. 0064	Order of protection-tolling during imprisonment.
SF0040	SEA No. 0065	Operation of motorboat while intoxicated.
HB0130	HEA No. 0095	Wyoming Cowboy and Cowgirl Legacy Week.
HB0204	HEA No. 0096	Common college transcript-implementation.
HB0297	HEA No. 0098	K-3 reading assessment and intervention program.
HB0082	HEA No. 0104	Veterans' skilled nursing facility.
HB0180	HEA No. 0106	Mixed martial arts regulation.
HB0212	HEA No. 0107	Alcoholic beverages-business flexibility.
HJ0010	HEJR No. 0003	Medal of Honor cities.
The governor will act upon these bills:
Bill No.	Enrolled Act #	Bill Title
SF0099	SEA No. 0057	Voting systems and ballots.
SF0067	SEA No. 0058	Hospital cost study.
SF0088	SEA No. 0059	Firemen's retirement fund plan b-contribution.
SF0107	SEA No. 0060	Pari-mutuel fee distribution-state fair account.
SF0120	SEA No. 0062	Student expulsion hearing requirements.
SF0142	SEA No. 0063	County regulation of livestock grazing.
SF0047	SEA No. 0066	Controlled substances education and administration.
SF0046	SEA No. 0068	Opioid prescription limits.
HB0143	HEA No. 0097	Presentence investigation reports-judicial discretion.
HB0020	HEA No. 0099	Program evaluation standards.
HB0062	HEA No. 0100	Wyoming Utility Token Act-property amendments.
HB0029	HEA No. 0101	Unclaimed life insurance benefits.
HB0113	HEA No. 0102	Special electric utility agreements.
HB0125	HEA No. 0103	District court filing fees.
HB0243	HEA No. 0108	Driver's licenses.

A really interesting one in this set is the one that designates certain towns and cities as Medal of Honor cities.  It's set out below:

ORIGINAL HOUSE ENGROSSED

JOINT RESOLUTION. HJ0010

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING

2019 GENERAL SESSION

A JOINT RESOLUTION to designate cities and communities in the state of Wyoming as Medal of Honor cities or communities to honor the Medal of Honor recipients connected with the cities or communities.

WHEREAS, the Medal of Honor is our nation's highest award for valor presented to veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States for acting with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at the risk of one's life during combat with an enemy of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Medal of Honor medal is widely respected by the military and public alike; and

WHEREAS, Wyoming has been home to seventeen (17) Medal of Honor recipients from the United States Army, Unites States Navy and United States Marine Corps who served in five (5) wars, from the Civil War to the Vietnam War, over a period of one hundred seven (107) years; and

WHEREAS, seventeen (17) recipients who earned Medals of Honor, were born in, or laid to rest in six (6) cities and three (3) unincorporated areas in the state of Wyoming; and

WHEREAS, Wyoming's Medal of Honor recipients are not presently honored by Medal of Honor markers in their cities or other communities with which they were associated; and

WHEREAS, "Medal of Honor City or Community" markers in public places across Wyoming will preserve the legacy of service and sacrifices of Wyoming's recipients; and

WHEREAS, Wyoming deeply appreciates the service and sacrifice of its Medal of Honor recipients and the positive roles they have played in their communities for more than one hundred (100) years.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.  The Wyoming legislature hereby designates Casper, Greybull, Cheyenne, Laramie, Powder River, Rock Springs and three (3) unincorporated areas, Platte River, Elkhorn Creek and Bluff Station as "Medal of Honor" cities and communities and encourages the creation of Medal of Honor markers in public places in the designated cities and communities.

Section 2.  That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the governing body of each Medal of Honor city or community, the Governor of the State of Wyoming, the Wyoming Veteran's Commission, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and state organizations of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

(END)

Speaker of the House			President of the Senate

	Governor
	TIME APPROVED: _________
	DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

It's a neat idea, but it contains an error.  Little Powder River isn't an incorporated municipality.  It used to be, but ceased to be quite some time ago.

I'm amazed that there's seventeen Wyomingites associated with the Medal of Honor, but then this notes that it does go back to the Civil War.  At one time the Medal of Honor was the only medal issued by the United States military, and even civilians were eligible early on in some military circumstances.  Peace time awards were in fact common early on, and were particular common in the Navy, where more than one sailor lost his life trying to save drowning individuals.

Well, it's a neat idea.

The Black 14, University of Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming

This is a monument to The Black 14 in the University of Wyoming's Student Union.

The Black 14 were fourteen University of Wyoming football players who, in 1969, wanted to wear black armbands during the University of Wyoming v. Brigham Young football game. The action was intended to protest the policy of the Mormon church in excluding blacks from leadership roles in their church.  Coach Eaton, the UW football coach at the time, dismissed all fourteen players prior to the game, ending their football careers at UW and, at least in some cases, simply ending them entirely.

 

The event was controversial at the time, and to a lesser degree, has remained so.  Generally, in most of Wyoming, Coach Eaton was supported, rather than the players, which doesn't mean that the players did not have support.  As time has gone on, however, views have changed and generally the players are regarded as heroes for their stand.  Views on Eaton are qualified, with some feeling he was in the wrong, and others feeling that he was between a rock and a hard place and acted as best as he could, even if that was not for the best.

It is indeed possible even now to see both sides of the dramatic event.  The players wanted to wear black armbands in protest of the Mormon's policy of not allowing blacks to be admitted to the Mormon priesthood and therefore also excluding them from positions of leadership in the Mormon church.  This policy was well know in much of Wyoming as the Mormon theology behind it, which held that blacks were descendant of an unnatural union on the part of Noah's son Cain, resulted in black human beings.  This was unlikely to be widely known, however, amongst blacks at the University of Wyoming, most of whom (but not all of which) came from outside of the state.  A week or so prior to the UW v. BYU game, however, Willie Black, a black doctoral candidate at UW who was not on the football team, learned of the policy.  Black was head of the Black Students Alliance and called for a protest.  The plan to wear armbands then developed.

The protest, therefore, came in the context of a civil rights vs. religious concepts background, a tough matter in any context.  To make worse, it also came during the late 60s which was a time of protest, and there had been one against the Vietnam War just days prior to the scheduled game. Following that, Eaton reminded his players of UW's policy against student athletes participating in any demonstration, a policy which raises its own civil liberties concern. The players went ahead with tehir plans and Eaton removed all of them from the team.

Looked at now, it remains easy to see why Eaton felt that he had to act, while also feeling that he acted much too harshly.  Not everyone agrees with this view by any means, however.  Many, but a declining number, still feel Eaton was right.  A much larger number feel he was definitely wrong.  Few hold a nuanced view like I've expressed.  Even those who felt that Eaton was right often admire the protesting players, however.

Anyway its looked at, the Black 14 are now a definite part of Wyoming's legacy as The Equality State, even if most of them were not from here (at least one, and maybe more, were).  This year at Wyoming History Day, a statewide high school history presentation competition, which had the theme of "taking a stand", they were the subject of one static display and two video presentations.  They may be more well remembered now than at any time since the late 1970s, and this memorial in the student union certainly contributes to that.

Ft. Sanders, Wyoming.

This is one of the more disappointing items I've posted here, as the location itself is disappointing.  This is the site of the former Ft. Sanders, Wyoming, just outside of Laramie Wyoming

Ft. Sanders isn't a fort we think of much in terms of Frontier, or Wyoming, history.  It was a small post along the Union Pacific, and as such it seemingly figured in the story of the Indian Wars less than some others we'd typically consider.  This doesn't mean it wasn't a significant post in its own way, but it wasn't a major post like Ft. Laramie, nor was it one that was on the ragged edge of the Indian frontier, like Ft. Caspar or Ft. Reno.

And there's very little left of it. As the Wyoming sign commemorating it notes, the mostly wooden post is now mostly gone.  The brick building above was the powder magazine.  I couldn't spot the guard house when I was there, but I understand it to still exist, and to be across the highway, so I'll have to update this entry once I find it.  The sign is somewhat inaccurate as apparently some structures that were on the post were moved into Laramie for private use and still exist, and The Cavalryman Restaurant, depicted in the photograph above, was a post structure.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial, Interstate 80, Wyoming

This is the very large bronze of Abraham Lincoln located on Interstate 80 just east of Laramie, Wyoming.  Interstate 80 is located on what was once the Lincoln Highway, hence explaining the very large bronze, which is otherwise somewhat unusual for a Wyoming monument.

Lowell O'Bryan Memorial, University of Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming.

This is the monument to Lowell O'Bryan at the University of Wyoming.  O'Bryan was a University of Wyoming student who was topping off horses that were to be used in a celebration to greet incoming University President Arthur G. Crane when one of the horses broke and headed towards a fence and a group of students.  O'Bryan, an experienced rider, went to dismount the horse and turn it while it was breaking, which was experienced at doing, but the saddle slipped and he was thrown under the horse, receiving fatal injuries as a result.  O'Bryan's 1922 death was memorialized by this feature, which is a drinking fountain of an unusual design.

O'Bryan might also be commemorated in the murals that were formerly in the student lounge and which are now in the west ballroom of the Student Union, although that is not clear.  Several different figures in the murals may depict O'Bryan.

The lamps shown here are near the fountain are not part of its design, but rather were placed in that location in front of Old Main in 1911.

Chief Washakie Monument, Laramie Wyoming.

This dramatic monument on the edge of the campus of the University of Wyoming commemorates Shoshone Chief Washakie, specifically noting the battle between the Shoshones and the Crows at Crow Heart Butte. 

World War One Memorial, Laramie Wyoming

This is the World War One Memorial in Laramie Wyoming. This memorial commemorates every resident of Albany County, together with every student or employee of the University of Wyoming, who lost their life in World War One. These photographs were taken in waning light, and therefore are not great. The dark bronze plates list names, and are full all the way around the memorial.

The number of names on this memorial is impressive, giving evidence to just how severe the combat of World War One was. This is one of two World War One memorials located in Laramie, with the other being located at the Episcopal Cathedral. This one is on a corner of the block occupied by the Albany County Courthouse.

View from the back steps of the Albany County Courthouse.

This memorial hasn't always been in this location. It was, at one time, located in a prominent location downtown. It only occupied this prominent downtown position for several years, however. It was moved by 1929 to its current location but the area still looks different as as the current courthouse had not yet been built.

World War One Memorial, Episcopal Cathedral, Laramie Wyoming

Memorial at the Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie, WY to the war dead of World War One. This memorial has, unfortunately, been vandalized.