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Wyoming Counties

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Wyoming Counties

There are 23 Counties in the state of Wyoming. There were originally five Counties in the Wyoming Territory: Laramie and Carter, established in 1867; Carbon and Albany established in 1868; and Uinta, an annexed portion of Utah and Idaho, extending from Montana (including Yellowstone Park) to the Wyoming-Utah boundary. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the Union with thirteen counties.

Campbell County, Wyoming

Campbell County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Gillette
Year Organized: 1911
Square Miles: 4,797

Court House:

500 South Gillette Avenue, Suite 212
Human Resources
Gillette, WY 82716-4239

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for John A. Campbell, first governor of the territory of Wyoming. Served 1869-1875. Named also for Robert Campbell, who was with Ashley's expedition in this part of the country from 1825 to 1835.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,802 square miles (12,436 km²), of which, 4,797 square miles (12,424 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (12 km²) of it (0.10%) is water.

Campbell County covers roughly 3 million acres. The lowest spot in the county is 3,400 feet above sea level at the Little Powder River in the northern end of the county. The highest point is 6,060 feet and is located at the top of North Pumpkin Butte on the western border. The climate is semiarid with an average of 15.75 inches of precipitation a year. May and June are the wettest months, while December and January are the driest.

Ten thousand years ago, the first people came to the high plains to hunt buffalo and antelope. In more recent times, the Sioux and Crow claimed this area as their hunting grounds. In the 1880's, ranchers came to graze long horn cattle and sheep on the open range. They were followed by homesteaders lured by the promise of free land.

Today, Campbell County is the energy capital of the nation. 30% of the nation’s coal is produced in area surface mines. The Coal Bed Methane industry is another major contributor to America’s economy and Campbell County’s prosperity. Ranching is the predominant land use; herds of cattle and sheep graze among large herds of deer and antelope. Every year in the fall, the abundance of wildlife attracts hunters from around the world.

Campbell County Wyoming was recently listed in a popular agricultural magazine as one of the top 100 places to live in rural America. The population is almost 39,000 and growing rapidly due to the planned construction of three additional coal-fired power plants. The unemployment rate is low and job opportunities are high.

Campbell County offers a variety of cultural and social activities extraordinary for a rural area. Our diverse community features beautiful golf courses where the antelope are more of a hazard than the sand traps. CAM-PLEX, a multi-events facility, offers world class concerts and touring companies of Broadway plays. CAM-PLEX is also the site of horse shows, rodeos, conventions and the County Fair. With it’s convenient location between the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Bighorn Mountains, a short drive affords you the opportunity for multiple outdoor activities, including skiing, snowmobiling, hiking and fishing.

Gillette, Wyoming

Gillette, Wyoming began when three men filed homestead rights in Rockpile Draw. The new railroad crossed these homesteads, so the Lincoln Land & Livestock Company bought them. In July, 1891, the Livestock Company planned the town of Gillette and sold lots. The town grew with the arrival of the railroad in August of that same year. The city of Gillette was named after Edward Gillette because his survey saved the railroad money. Starting in 1909, small mines were built around the county. The first major coal mine in Campbell County was Wyodak, east of Gillette. The first oil exploration began in the 1940's.

Neighboring Counties:

Sheridan County, Wyoming - west
Johnson County, Wyoming - west
Converse County, Wyoming - south
Weston County, Wyoming - east
Crook County, Wyoming - east
Powder River County, Montana - north

Cities and Towns:

- Gillette (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Wright	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Campbell County

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."