History
Crook County was created in 1875 from the northern portions of Albany and Laramie counties. The county was named for General George Crook. Devils Tower National Monument, the first national monument in the United States, is in Crook County. Portions of the county became Weston and Campbell counties in later years.
County Creation, Settlement and Conflict
The creation of Crook County and Pease County (later named Johnson) by the Fourth Wyoming Territorial Legislative Assembly on December 8, 1875, was a political statement rather than a political act. The area to be included in the two counties, the northeast corner of Wyoming Territory, had been declared by treaty between the United States and the Sioux Tribes, concluded on April 28, 1868, to be Indian Territory, Article XVI of the treaty stated that "the country north of the North Platte River and east of the summits of the Big Horn Mountains shall be held and considered to be unceded Indian Territory, and also stipulates and agrees that no white person or persons shall be permitted to settle upon or occupy any portion of the same; or without the consent of the Indians, first had and obtained, to pass through the same."
Four days prior to approving the law creating Crook and Pease Counties, the Fourth Legislative Assembly had adopted another political statement concerning the unceded Indian Territory -- a Memorial and Resolution to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States. The memorial referred to the Sioux as "the blood-seeking brave... and his filthy squaw," and urged Congress that the unceded Indian Territory "be opened to settlement and improvement, to the end that Wyoming may become what her natural resources entitle her to be, and what the development of millions of acres of the garden spot of the west (within her borders, but now useless) would soon enable her to become a great and prosperous state.
The Memorial and Resolution, and the act creating Crook and Pease Counties, were simply another progression in the continuing agitation for the federal government to confine the Sioux to reservations and open the unceded Indian lands for settlement, and particularly for mining. Rumors had been circulating since the early 1870's that gold could be found in the Black Hills, of which the westward extension was located in Crook County. During those years, a few miners, disregarding the treaty and the law, ventured into the Black Hills and those who had escaped the Sioux confirmed the presence of gold. Further confirmation of "gold in them thar hills" came from an army expedition in 1874 into the Black Hills, in direct violation of the treaty. Experienced miners and geologists, as well as newspaper reporters, had accompanied the army. Traces of gold had been found and reports of the findings were carried in every newspaper in the country.
The result was twofold: a gold rush into the Black Hills and increased pressure on the federal government to do something about the situation. First, the government ordered the army to turn back the miners going into the Hills. The army had some success, but more miners were able to avoid the cavalry than were turned away. once past the troopers and into the mining region, the miners were often confronted by the outraged Sioux, and many miners perished. A few, however, managed to escape both the army and te Sioux, and find gold, later returning to Cheyenne or Sidney, Nebraska with inflated stories of golden bonanzas.
All of this put more pressure on the government to remove the Sioux from the Black Hills and the Powder River Basin. The government was trying to do just that. During May and June 1875, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs was meeting with some Sioux Chiefs in Washington in an effort to purchase the rights of the Sioux to the Black Hills. The discussions were discontinued when it became apparent that the chiefs were not authorized by the tribes to sell the Indian's rights. Talks were resumed at the Sioux Red Cloud Agency in September, but nothing was resolved, as the Sioux were too attached to the region to give up their rights to it. Consequently, during November 1875, President U.S. Grant and his cabinet determined that the Sioux must be forced to vacate the Black Hills and the Powder River Country. To bring this about, Grant issued a proclamation that all Sioux must be living on their various reservations by January 31, 1876. This action made the adoptions of the Wyoming Legislative Assembly in December just verbalism.
Many of the Indians complied with Grant's proclamation, but many more did not, either learning of the proclamation too late to comply, or choosing to defy the government and the army. What followed was the army's campaign against the Sioux during 1876 and 1877, with the drawn battle of the Rosebud, June 17, 1876, between the forces under General George Crook and the Sioux and their allies under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the tragedy of the Little Bighorn, June 25, 1876, with the near annihilation of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The campaign concluded with Sitting Bull and his band fleeing to Canada, and Crazy Horse and his warriors surrendering to the army May 6, 1877.
Although some Indian incidents occurred in Crook County during the next several years, with the defeat of the Sioux and enforced residency on reservations, the county, including that portion of the Black Hills within the county's borders, was open for settlement. As early as late 1876, a few brave settlers began to establish small ranches, and others staked out mining claims. Soon, cattle herds driven north from Texas entered the county, and more ranches were established. Despite population growth, only 239 residents were enumerated by the 1880 census for Crook County, less than half of the 500 residents required by the creating act for organization of the county.
County Organization
By mid-1884, the population had more than doubled in the county, and in October a petition requesting organization of Crook County, with the required five hundred signatures of county residents, was submitted to Governor William Hale. As required by the law, Governor Hale verified the signatures, and then appointed W. F. Draper, J. S. Harper, and W. H. Harlow commissioners to organize the county. The organ1z1ng commissioners met in Sundance on November 28, 1884. At the meeting, the commissioners set December 9 as the election date for the county's qualified voters to approve organization of the county, to select a county seat, and to elect the county's first officers. Completing their work, the organizing commissioners also established election precincts and appointed judges for the election.
On January 22, 1885, the newly elected Crook County Commissioners, William J. McCrea, William H. Harlow, and Abner C. Settle met to formally organize the county. Sundance had been unopposed as the county seat, and the commissioners officially declared it to be such. Oaths of office were then administered to the newly elected county officers: B. F. Fowler, county and prosecuting attorney; John S. Harper, county clerk; John P. Gammon, probate judge, ex-officio justice of the peace and treasurer; James Ryan, county sheriff; Mrs. P. Patte, county superintendent of schools; J.B. Boyden, county surveyor, G. M. Wood, county assessor; and Dr. T. C. Sherwood, county coroner. To conclude their first meeting, establishing county government in Crook County, the commissioners agreed to rent, for $15.00 monthly, the second floor of a log building to house county offices, provided that the building was moved to lot 2, block 2, in the center of Sundance.
County Courthouse
Fifteen months later, the Crook County Board of County Commissioners were considering the construction of a permanent courthouse and jail for the county. The issuing of county bonds for $25,000 at 6% interest to pay for the courthouse, was approved by the county's qualified voters, and in May 1886, the commissioners accepted plans for the courthouse and jail. The plans were for a two-story brick building, with a cupola rising above the building, and a one story jail at the rear of the structure. The first floor of the courthouse was to contain county offices, the second floor was to house court facilities, and the basement was to be used for storage and heating equipment. To complete their planning for the new courthouse, the commissioners acquired and had surveyed block 8 in Sundance, later known as Courthouse Square.
The commissioners had some problems with the contract for the construction of the courthouse. In July, a contract for $22,500 was awarded to Edward Curran, the low bidder, to build the courthouse, but Curran failed to properly execute the contract and post the required bond. Consequently, the commissioners withdrew the contract, and on August 17, 1886, awarded the construction contract to 0. F. Howard of Sundance for $23,725. Although Howard commenced construction of the courthouse in September, because of weather delays during the winter and labor shortages, it was December 1887, before the county's offices were moved into the new courthouse. On January 23, 1888, the county commissioners officially accepted the courthouse as being completed.
The courthouse served Crook County well for eighty years, with only normal maintenance and minor repairs and changes in the building required. In 1893, the roof of the courthouse was replaced, after repairs to the original roof had been previously made. In 1928, the east entrance to the courthouse was sealed and new restrooms were built in what had been the entryway. Eight years later, 1936, the commissioners contracted for the removal of the cupola from the courthouse (severely weather-beaten after nearly fifty years) and for stuccoing over the brick exterior, which had also been damaged.
During the eighty years, along with changes in the courthouse, changes in Crook County's boundaries also took place. In 1890, the state legislature created Weston County out of what was the southern half of Crook County, establishing a boundary line from South Dakota to Johnson County. Twenty-three years later, 1913, the legislature created Campbell County from Crook and Weston Counties, placing the western half of both counties in the new county. Since 1913, the boundaries of Crook County have remained the same.
Early in the 1960's, recognizing that the courthouse was soon going to have to be replaced, the Crook County Commissioners began planning how to finance the construction of a new one. In 1963, with the approval of the county's qualified voters, the commissioners established a building fund to accumulate capital for a new courthouse. Although by 1967, sufficient funds had not been accumulated in the building fund for a new courthouse, the commissioners determined to go ahead with the building project. Consequently, Crook County citizens approved a $300,000 bond issue, with an average interest of 3.49%, to be paid in ten years, to complete funding for the new courthouse. in May 1967, a contract for $534,364 was given to the Weber Construction Company of Cheyenne to build the new courthouse. Later, a contract for new furniture and equipment in the amount of $27,419.89 was awarded to Tucker's Inc. and the Mills Company of Sheridan.
An open house to dedicate the new Crook County Courthouse was held the afternoon of May 26, 1968. A tri-level, tan brick structure, the courthouse was beautiful, spacious, and functional. The lower level contained the county jail, the sheriff's offices, and storage space. Offices for the county treasurer, the county assessor, the county clerk, and the county commissioners were located on the second level of the building. The upper level contained the county attorney's offices, the office of the clerk of district court, the courtroom, the jurors' room, and the judge's chambers.
After a number of years of use, the courthouse is still attractive and functional, and continues to contribute to effective county government in Crook County to the benefit of the county's citizens
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