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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.

Natrona County, Wyoming

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

County Seat: Casper
Year Organized: 1888
Square Miles: 5,369

Court House:

P.O. Box 863
County Courthouse
Casper, WY 82602-0863

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for the natron, or soda deposits in the county.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Natrona County was initially organized in the year 1888. the first settlement occurred in the Casper area in the late 1800s.

Wyoming’s plains are the historical home to many nomadic tribes including the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone and Sioux. Today, about 6,000 Shoshone and Arapaho continue to reside on the 2.3 million acre Wind River Reservation, northwest of Natrona County.

Natrona county has a vast and varied history, from the Teapot Dome scandal to the oil and gas fields. Wyoming with its natural beauty and the history have attracted movie makers from John Wayne movies to science fiction movies.

In 1812, John Jacob Astor established Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia and sent Robert Stuart east to start what was hoped to become a network of trading posts. Stuart found South Pass by following a Crow Indian trail and entered our region. Near Bessemer Bend, Stuart and his small band erected the first white man’s hut in 1812. Although Astor’s plans failed when the British captured Astoria in 1812, trappers and scouts continued to explore our high plains and develop transit routes. On July 4, 1824, some of these trappers named Independence Rock.

In 1840, Father Jean Pierre DeSmet began spreading the gospel among area Indians. Father DeSmet was the first to carve his name on Independence Rock and give it the name, “The Register of the Desert.” In 1843, John C. Fremont (known as “The Pathfinder”) chiseled his name on Independence Rock and later with Kit Carson as his guide, went on to explore the country along the Platte and Sweetwater Rivers.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,376 square miles (13,923 km²), of which, 5,340 square miles (13,830 km²) of it is land and 36 square miles (93 km²) of it (0.67%) is water.

Natrona County is located in the central part of Wyoming and consists of 5,369 square miles, covering 3,436,160 acres with a population of almost 65,000. The county seat is in Casper, which offers a multitude of choices for a wealth of natural and cultural history. Casper is the only place where the Oregon, Mormon, Overland, Pony Express, and Bridger Trails intersect. Cattle and sheep ranching were among the first enterprises, and diverse geological formations fostered the development of an energy industry fueled by oil, gas, coal, and uranium.

Neighboring Counties:

Johnson County (north)
Converse County (east)
Carbon County (south)
Fremont County (west)
Washakie County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Bar Nunn	town	Incorporated Area
- Casper (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Edgerton	town	Incorporated Area
- Evansville	town	Incorporated Area
- Midwest	town	Incorporated Area
- Mills	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Natrona County Home Page

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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