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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.

Fremont County, Wyoming

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

County Seat: Lander
Year Organized: 1884
Square Miles: 9,266

Court House:

450 North Second - Room 220
County Courthouse
Lander, WY 82520-2360

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for General John Charles Fremont, pathfinder and explorer.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Fremont County was created in 1884. It is the historical home of the Wind River Indian Reservation, home of the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes of Native Americans. It included Park, Big Horn, and Hot Springs counties until 1890 when they split. It was named for General John Charles Fremont, who was a surveyor and explorer searching for a route to the Pacific ocean in 1842. His group of 20 men were guided by Kit Carson and Enos, a Shoshone Indian.

South Pass, a break in the continental divide, is also located in Fremont county. Indians had been using the pass for centuries before Robert Stuart and his group were the first whites to cross the pass October 12, 1812. The first horse drawn wagons to cross the pass were lead by Captain Benjamin Bonneville in 1832. Gold was discovered here in 1842. The big boom came in 1867 when the Carissa mine (Named for Clarissa Whitney who is thought to be the first white child born in Wyoming), Miner Delight, and Burr mines were discovered, producing millions of dollars in gold. Over 5,000 people came to the area during this time to search for gold.

Fremont County produces more than half of the uranium in Wyoming, which is second in the United States in uranium production. Jade also found in Fremont County which is the Wyoming State gem stone.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 9,266 square miles (23,998 km²), of which, 9,182 square miles (23,782 km²) of it is land and 84 square miles (216 km²) of it (0.90%) is water.

Elevations and climate range from desert at Boysen State Park to glaciers at 13,804-foot (4,207 m) Gannett Peak, the highest point not only in Wyoming but in the three Central Rockies states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. It is the second largest county in land size (after Sweetwater County, WY) in the six Rocky Mountain States. The southern end of the county is traversed by the Oregon Trail and in the northwest corner lies Dubois, a gateway town for Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. Although the county seat is Lander, the largest community is Riverton, home of Central Wyoming College and the economic hub of the region. A large portion of the western edge of the county follows the Continental Divide at the crest of the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains, known for its vast wilderness areas and home of the largest glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains.

Neighboring Counties:

Hot Springs County, Wyoming - north
Washakie County, Wyoming - northeast
Natrona County, Wyoming - east
Carbon County, Wyoming - southeast
Sweetwater County, Wyoming - south
Sublette County, Wyoming - west
Teton County, Wyoming - northwest
Park County, Wyoming - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Dubois	town	Incorporated Area
- Hudson	town	Incorporated Area
- Lander (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Pavillion	town	Incorporated Area
- Rawlins	city	Incorporated Area
- Riverton	city	Incorporated Area
- Shoshoni	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Fremont County Wyoming Government Official Website

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

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