The Pioneer Legacy of an American Ranch Family

The Pioneer Legacy of an American Ranch Family

Hardback English
By Jefferson Glass

A portion of all royalties from the sale of Empire will be pledged in support of the Historic Bishop Home!

A collage of characters shaped the west of the nineteenth century. Large and powerful cattlemen, backed by eastern and European investors, flooded the prairie with herds often numbering 50-80 thousand head. They had visions of doubling or tripling their money quickly while their cattle grazed on the free grass of the open range. Others, like Martin Gothberg wisely invested in the future of the young frontier. Starting with a humble 160-acre homestead in 1885, he continued to expand and develop a modest ranch that eventually included tens of thousands of acres of deeded land.

Gothberg's story parallels the history of open range cattle ranches, cowboys, roundups, homesteaders, rustlers, sheep men and range wars. It does not end there. As the Second Industrial Revolution escalated in the late 1800s, so did the demand for petroleum products. What began with a demand for beef to feed the hungry cities of the eastern United States fostered the demand for wool to clothe them and graduated into a demand for oil to warm them in winter and fuel the mechanized age of the twentieth century. All were a critical part of shaping American history. Through the lens of this family saga-a part of the history of the West comes to life in the hands of this storyteller and historian.

Products: Casper Chronicles Book

CASPER CHRONICLES I
Tales and Memories of Casper's First Settlers

$20.00

Shipping, Handling and Sales Tax is not included.

CASPER CHRONICLES II

$15.00

Shipping, Handling and Sales Tax is not included.

"Casper Chronicles I & II are available directly from this web site, at the Historic Bishop Home located at 818 East 2nd Street in Casper- Phone (307) 235-5277, Wind City Books; Fort Caspar Museum Store, by email at info@cadomafoundation.org., and from the Fort Caspar Chapter DAR by contacting Susan Haines, (307) 577-7146. The cost is $20.00 for Casper Chronicles I and $15.00 for Casper Chronicles II both plus tax, shipping, and handling if applicable.
Proceeds from Cadoma Chronicles I Benefit the Cadoma Foundation and Casper Chronicles II equally the Cadoma Foundation and the Fort Casper Chapter DAR."

Casper Chronicles I

The Casper Chronicles is a Ken Burns' style of history telling. The writings portray immediacy that only personal remembrances can provide. The tales bring to life the early times of Casper and relive the struggles and commitment that brought the land fromsage brushprairie to a thriving metropolis in the middle of Wyoming. These first and second hand accounts of the building of Casper, relating the struggles and perseverance of the community fathers are important perspectives to remember. The majority of the memories are dated from the late 1880's to 1910's. Except for the dedication of the women of the Zonta Club to compile and publish the Chronicles, these tales would have been lost forever.

The book is in the authors' own words, style, grammar, and punctuation to preserve its historical and colloquial significance.Only minor changes for significant typographical errors were made.

The Cadoma Foundation is committed to preserving tales and memories of the generations that followed. Sequels to the Chronicles are planned that will share stories of subsequent generations that saw Casper "roar" in the 1920's, bust in the '30's and rise again. If you have personal and family stories that should become a part of these publications, please contact us.

Find out about tidbits of Casper's history such as:

  • Are fishing worms natives or migrants to Casper?
  • Who coined the phrase "Powder River, Let'er Buck", and
  • How the inspiration for the Wyoming Flag came to Miss Keays,
  • Plus much more; all part of this book written by the first and second generation settlers.

Casper Chronicles II

Following in the spirit of the 1964 Casper Chronicles, the new volume is a series of biographical articles that document families who have been in Casper and Natrona County for the past one hundred years, and still have descendants living and contributing to community life. The new book is a joint venture between the Cadoma Foundation, owner of the Historic Bishop Home and the Fort Caspar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The core of the book is possible because of the generosity of the Casper Journal in allowing these organization to republish the stories that were a part of a 2014 series of biographical articles on several of pioneer families.

With the assistance of Rebecca Hunt, author of Natrona County, People Place and Time, the original group of articles was expanded to include additional families. Casper Chronicles II reveals community history that includes....

Who was the community Secret Santa for many years?
Who sponsored a Jewish Family direct from Germany to Wyoming prior to World War II?
Who rescued the mannequin from the back room the Rialto Barber Shop?
Plus many many more stories told in the words of the descendants