Park County, Wyoming

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

County Seat: Cody
Year Organized: 1909
Square Miles: 6,969

Court House:

1002 Sheridan Avenue
County Courthouse
Cody, WY 82414-3598

Named: Named for Yellowstone National Park.

State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Park County was organized in 1909.

The flags of five countries have flown over that part of Wyoming which is now Park County—the flags of Spain, Great Britain, Mexico, France and the United States. For many years it was in Dakota Territory. With the birth of statehood in 1890, Wyoming, the 44th state, was divided into five counties running from North to South across the state. What is now Park County was first a part of Sweetwater County, then Fremont County, and then Big Horn County; until 1909 when the Wyoming State Legislature defined and set aside the boundaries of Park County. A year later in November 1910, an election was held to determine the county seat. Competition was keen between Cody and Powell with Cody winning by a wide margin. Records have been kept in Park County since 1911. The Historic Park County Courthouse was completed in 1912 and has housed the Archives since 1985.

Neighboring Counties:

Park County, Montana (north)
Carbon County, Montana (northeast)
Big Horn County (east)
Washakie County (east-southeast)
Hot Springs County (southeast)
Fremont County (south)
Teton County (southwest)
Gallatin County, Montana (northwest)

Cities:

- Cody (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Frannie	town	Incorporated Area
- Meeteetse	town	Incorporated Area
- Powell	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

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.”

Penn Foster High School

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