History

Created in 1875, the county was originally named Pease. The legislature changed the name in 1879 to honor E. P. Johnson, Cheyenne lawyer and first territorial librarian. The county’s name was applied to an event in 1892, the Johnson County War/Invasion, in which influential cattlemen plotted an invasion of the county to wipe out smaller ranchers they suspected of rustling.

As much or more than any other Wyoming County, the history of the region that became Johnson County in 1875 is one of turbulence and violence. On the east slope of the Big Horn Mountains, the region was the center of the Plains Indian Wars in Wyoming, and later, after Johnson County was organized, was the focal point of the range wars in the state between the big cattle companies and the homesteaders or small cattle ranchers. Indian warfare delayed settlement of the region, even after it was designated a territorial county, and the range war threatened Johnson County Government.

Early Settlement

The foothills, valleys, and grass-laden prairies of the Big Horn's eastern slope were prime habitat for wildlife, and had long been favored hunting grounds of the Sioux Nation and the Northern Cheyennes. The blazing of the Bozeman Trail across the hunting grounds in 1863 to supply mines and miners in Montana, and followed by the establishment of a series of army forts along the trail to protect the wagon trains, triggered warfare with the Indians that would last until 1877.

The saga of the violent confrontation between the Army and the Sioux and their allies is not properly a part of this administrative history. Suffice it to say that the ordeal of Fort Phil Kearney, 1866-1868, with the Fetterman and Wagon Box fights; and the army's 1876-1877 campaign, with the battles of the Rosebud, the Little Big Horn, and Dull Knife, are all an integral part of Wyoming and Johnson County history, even though some of the battles occurred in southern Montana. The result of all the violence was that it cleared the way for white settlement--the Indians were confined to reservations or living in exile in Canada.

County Creation

Because of Indian domination of the region, settlement was not practical when the fourth Wyoming Territorial Legislative Assembly created Pease County on December 8, 1875. The county was named for Dr. E. L. Pease of Uinta County, but the name was changed to Johnson County by the legislative assembly in 1879 to honor Cheyenne Attorney, E. P. Johnson. The new county was created from Carbon and Sweetwater counties, and was bounded on the south by those counties, on the west by Sweetwater County, on the north by Montana, and to the east by the unorganized Crook County. Eventually, all or part of four counties-­ Sheridan, Big Horn, Washakie, and Hot Springs--would be carved out of Johnson County as originally created.

Settlement of Johnson County began with the establishment of Fort McKinney (named for Lieutenant J. A. McKinney, who was killed in the Dull Knife Battle in 1876)on the west bank of Powder River where the Bozeman Trail crossed the river. Soon after the fort was located, the town and post office of Powder River was founded on the opposite bank of the river from the fort. A year later, 1878, to secure a better water supply, Fort McKinney was moved westward to a site on Clear Creek. The fort remained there as a supply depot until 1903, when it was deeded to the state for a soldiers and sailors home. Now called the Veterans Home of Wyoming, with some of the original buildings still standing, the old fort serves Wyoming veterans needing care.

Town of Buffalo

Shortly after Fort McKinney was moved to the Clear Creek location, the town of Buffalo was established two miles downstream from the fort. One usually assumes the name came from the bison herds that had roamed the prairies in years gone by. However, the name "buffalo" for the town came from a game of chance. Five of the town's first settlers were arguing as to what the town should be named, and each of the settlers agreed to put a name for the town in a hat, and the name drawn would be the name of the new town. The name "Buffalo" was picked from the hat. It had been put in the hat by Alvin J. McCray to honor his birthplace, Buffalo, New York.

County Organization

By 1881, considerable settlement had taken place in Johnson County: large cattle ranches dominated the river valleys and the open range; some homesteaders were filing on their 160 acres along the upper reaches of the many creeks flowing out of the mountains and starting their own cattle herds; miners were searching the Big Horns for precious metals; Buffalo was thriving with new businesses to meet the needs of the cattlemen, homesteaders, miners, and soldiers at Fort McKinney. With county government hundreds of miles removed, all of the settlers in Johnson County agreed that it was time to organize the county and establish county government at home. Consequently, a petition requesting organization of the county was circulated among the county's residents, and when five hundred signatures of qualified taxpayers and electors, as required by the creating act, had been obtained, the petition was forwarded to Governor John W. Hoyt.

Early in March 1881, Governor Hoyt responded to the petition by appointing organizing commissioners; and this creates a historical puzzle. The 1875 act creating Pease (Johnson) County specified that the governor, upon receipt of the petition, would appoint three organizing commissioners. But the records of Johnson County reveal that only John R. Smith and Charles A. Farwell served as organizing commissioners and exercised the authority granted organizing commissioners to bring about the organization of Johnson County. Governor Hoyt's existing appointment records do not include any information concerning the appointment of organizing commissioners for the county, so the question is, did Governor Hoyt appoint three commissioners, one of whom chose not to serve; or did Hoyt appoint only two commissioners to organize Johnson County, choosing to ignore the law for some reason?

Regardless of the answer, on March 29, 1881, Commissioners Smith and Farwell met in the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo. They appointed W. R. Mann as clerk, called for an election to be held on April 19, 1881 to approve organization of the county, to choose a county seat, and to elect county and precinct officers. They also established election districts and appointed election judges. The next meeting of the organizing commissioners was held April 27 to canvas the votes of the election. The voters overwhelmingly approved organization of Johnson

County, and selected Buffalo as the county seat. County and precinct officers elected were Henry N. Devoe, W. E. Hathaway, and W. E. Jackson, county commissioners; Nat James, county sheriff; W. E. Halleman, county clerk; E. U. Snider, probate judge and county treasurer; N. S. Anderson, county and prosecuting attorney; J. T. Wolfe, county superintendent of schools; Silas M. Coburn, county coroner; Ken M. Burkitt, county assessor; S. T. Farwell, G. A. Moeller, W. R. Mann, and M. S. Sewin, justices of the peace; J. Dow, county surveyor; and Pat Donally, Richard Kennedy, J. W. Dunbar, and M. R. Benefield, constables.

County Courthouse

Two months later, on June 27, 1881, the county commissioners purchased the Lone Star Dance Hall from Ed O'Malley for $3,150. The purchase included the hall, stables, outbuildings, and a considerable amount of lumber with which the commissioners intended to remodel the dance hall and saloon into a suitable courthouse and jail for Johnson County. Located on a hill and overlooking the main street of Buffalo, the dance hall site was ideal for the county courthouse, despite the connotations that might be made in comparing county government to a frontier dance hall and saloon. Johnson County folklore suggests that other social activities besides dancing and drinking took place on the premises of the Lone Star.

The commissioners directed Sheriff Nat James to "take charge of the property and see that no one trespasses or carries off any said property." The sheriff was also in charge of the remodeling of the dance hall to make it functional for county offices and the county jail. The record indicates that petitions between rooms had to be removed to make the rooms of sufficient size for county offices, and gives some credence to the legend that soiled doves had occupied part of the dance hall. For the county jail, four cells were constructed in the middle of a large room (probably the dance floor)in the north wing of the building, so there was an alley surrounding the four cells which guards could use to observe prisoners.

Work on the first Johnson County Courthouse was completed in December 1881, and besides the jail, contained offices for the various county officers. Furnishings for the offices were purchased and included a safe bought from the Warren Mercantile Company in Cheyenne for $324.80, for the safe keeping of county funds. When occupied by the county officers, the interior of the former dance hall was a government business place and not the hall of pleasure for cowboys, miners, and soldiers it had previously been.

Although Johnson County officials and citizens were pleased to have a home for county government at the time, within two years the county commissioners were dissatisfied. The old dance hall was not structurally sound and repairs were difficult, expensive, and often ineffective. There was concern for the safety of the county's records, the security of county prisoners (there had been escapes), and in these peak years of the cattle industry in Wyoming, the county was enjoying prosperity. Consequently, in November 1883, the commissioners made the decision to construct a proper courthouse and jail for the county.

With the decision made, the commissioners asked Johnson County Representative, E. U. Snider, to introduce a bill in the coming session of the legislative assembly to authorize Johnson County to erect a courthouse. On March 5, 1884, the legislative assembly enacted the bill introduced by Representative Snider. The act authorized the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners to construct a county courthouse and to issue county bonds, not to exceed $30,000, to raise the funds needed to pay for the courthouse. The law also prescribed that the interest rate on the bonds was not to exceed eight percent, nor was the county bond tax to exceed two mills.

The county commissioners advertised for construction bids for the new courthouse and jail on April 30, 1884, and made the plans and specifications "prepared by and under the directions of the Board of County Commissioners" available to prospective bidders. The plans called for a two-story courthouse with a cupola above and a partial basement for storage below, and a separate building for the county jail. On June 8, the commissioners accepted the low bid, $31,650, of Edward and James Curran to build the courthouse and jail. Two weeks later, the board sold the former dance hall that had served as the county's courthouse to J. E. Watkins, the highest bidder, for $205, with the provision that all buildings had to be removed and the site cleaned so the new courthouse and jail could be constructed on the same site.

Apparently, Watkins and the Currans went right to work, for on July
25, 1884, the building contractors were reporting that the foundations for both the courthouse and the jail were completed. Progress continued on the buildings, and in November 1884, the cornerstone for the courthouse was laid. Two months later, toward the end of January 1885, the new Johnson County Courthouse and jail were occupied by the county's officials. Overlooking the town from the crest of the hill, with its red brick exterior trimmed in white and a white cupola, the courthouse was an imposing sight and a source of pride for the county's citizens.

Offices for the county commissioners, the county clerk, the county treasurer, the county assessor, and the county superintendent of schools were located on the first floor of the courthouse. The second floor contained the district courtroom, the jury room, the judge's chamber, and offices for the county attorney and the clerk of court. The county jail, located directly behind the courthouse, not only had facilities for prisoners but also office space and work area for the county sheriff and his deputies. Although the jail was replaced in 1982 by a new law enforcement center, on a site west of the courthouse the courthouse continues to serve the county more than a century later. Though modernization has taken place, the courthouse is much as it was in 1885 and is one of the most significant historical buildings in Wyoming.

Johnson County War

Even before the Johnson County Courthouse was occupied, tensions were occurring in the county which would lead to an eruption of violence in 1892. It was known as the Johnson County War. Books have been written about the Johnson County War, and it is not our purpose to examine all the causes and manifestations, but rather to look at the

Johnson County War in relation to county government in Johnson County. Suffice it to say that the cause of the Johnson County War centered around the theft of cattle from the open range and the control of the range by the big cattlemen. Although the conflict was statewide to a large extent, it was focused in, and the most intense, in Johnson County, where an increasing number of settlers were taking up small homesteads. Some of the settlers were former cowboy employees of the large ranches, wanting to start their own cattle herds, and were greatly suspected by the cattlemen as being cattle thieves.

By 1891, the large cattlemen considered their losses to thieves in Johnson County as critical -- suspected rustlers were nearly always set free by sympathetic local juries -- so the secretary and executive committee of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association began planning a campaign to kill or drive out all suspected rustlers from Johnson County. Before the plan could be implemented and amid increasing tensions and hatred in the county, violence flared. Tom Waggoner, a suspected thief, was lynched and an attempt on the life of another reputed rustler, Nate Champion, was made; and small ranchmen, Orley E. Jones and John A. Tisdale were ambushed and shot to death by gunmen. Range detective and a former Johnson County Sheriff, Frank Canton, was charged with Tisdale's murder, but the case was dismissed.

Throughout the winter of 1891-1892, the plan to rid Johnson County of cattle thieves was developed. Many of the state's big cattlemen and some prominent politicians participated in the planning, or were at least privy to the plans. On the afternoon of April 5, 1892, a six-car special train carrying 25 Texas gunmen, 24 Wyoming cattlemen (ranch owners, ranch managers, range detectives, and cattle inspectors), two newspapermen, and an out-of-state visitor, and also hauling horses, wagons, ammunition, and supplies, left Cheyenne for Casper. Although there is historical question as to the specific intentions of the invaders, it seems likely they intended to kill as many as seventy persons, including Johnson County Sheriff Red Angus, his deputies, the county commissioners, other officials, and certain suspected rustlers. One student of the Johnson County War believes the invaders intended to take over the courthouse, suspend county government, and maintain a form of martial law until all suspected cattle thieves had been killed or chased from the state upon threat of death. The invaders would then try to secure the cooperation of "honest" settlers, but would also discourage any further homesteading in the county.

Arriving at the stockyards outside Casper at 4 a.m. the next morning, the invaders quickly unloaded and rode north. Snow delayed them, but by nightfall they reached the J. N. Tisdale (no relation to John A. Tisdale) Ranch, 65 miles north of Casper. They rested at the ranch for a night and a day, and while there learned that 14 suspected rustlers were at the KC Ranch, 18 miles north, near present day Kaycee. At 1 a.m. on April 9, the cattlemen and gunmen left the Tisdale Ranch and rode to the KC, arriving before daylight. They placed the ranch under siege, captured and held two trappers prisoner, and fatally wounded Nick Ray, a rustler on their list, when he unsuspectingly left the ranch cabin for water; but they were held at bay throughout the day by Nate Champion, another rustler and the only other occupant of the cabin. At four in the afternoon, the invaders set fire to the cabin and killed Champion when he fled.

Knowing they had lost time and suspecting that reports of the assault on the KC had reached Buffalo, the invaders hurried toward the county seat. On the morning of April 10, seven miles south of Buffalo, the invaders were met by friends and informed that the county was up in arms and a large force of armed men was waiting for them. The cattlemen and gunmen then decided to retreat to the TA, a friendly ranch, 13 miles south of Buffalo. At the ranch, they fortified the log ranch house and barns, and waited for the angry citizens of Johnson County. They were not disappointed.

On the morning of the 11th, led by Sheriff Angus, two hundred well­ armed men reached the TA. Shots were exchanged, and the citizen posse placed the ranch under siege, similar to the occurrence at the KC Ranch. A great deal of ammunition was expended, but there were no casualties except for accidental wounds to two Texas gunmen. Both later died of gangrene. While the siege was going on, things were stirring in Cheyenne and even in Washington, D. C. On April 12, acting Governor Amos Barber received a telegram from Buffalo describing the situation in Johnson County. After some procrastination, Barber chose to wire President Benjamin Harrison, requesting that troopers at Fort McKinney be used to quell the "insurrection" rather than calling out the National Guard. United States Senators from Wyoming, Joseph M. Carey and Francis E. Warren, both cattlemen, also appealed to the president, reportedly getting him out of bed, to use federal troops to rescue the invaders from the citizen posse.

President Harrison authorized the use of federal forces, and Colonel J. J. Van Horne at Fort McKinney was ordered to break the siege at the TA. The colonel and a detachment of troopers arrived at the ranch on April 13, and then escorted the invaders to the fort. They were held at the fort for their protection for ten days and were then delivered to Fort D. A. Russell at Cheyenne, to be tried for the murder of Nick Ray and Nate Champion. On August 7, 1892, the invaders pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial was scheduled for August 22 by Judge Richard Scott. At the same time, Judge Scott ordered that the prisoners be set free, because Johnson County was not paying the bill for their room and board, nor the wages of their guards. On August 21, Judge Scott postponed the trial to January 2, 1893, and then again delayed it until January 21, on grounds of a crowded court calendar.

By this time, the state's principal witnesses against the cattlemen and the Texas gunmen -- the two trappers who had been held by the invaders throughout the siege at the KC Ranch and had witnessed the murders -- were not available to testify. They had been spirited out­ of-state by friends of the cattlemen and were hidden somewhere in the east. Also by this time, Johnson County owed $18,000, including the costs of maintaining the prisoners at the two forts, and for court costs. The trial would add substantially to this amount already owed by the county. Consequently, on January 21, 1893, the Johnson County Prosecutor, Alvin Bennett, moved to dismiss all charges against the defendants, and Judge Scott concurred. Officially the Johnson County War was over, except for the $18,000 the county owed and which the county commissioners refused to pay. Finally, in 1899, the state legislature appropriated the $18,000 to pay the bills.

There was an immediate aftermath in Johnson County with reprisals against the cattlemen and their sympathizers. Some ranches owned by the invaders were raided and looted. Associates and friends of the Invaders were threatened, and one ranch foreman was shot to death by an unknown assassin. Additional federal troops were stationed in Johnson County and throughout northern Wyoming during the summer of 1892 to maintain order. Eventually passions began to recede in the county. Today, Johnson County citizens are proud and possessive of their heritage the Johnson County War is only a fleeting moment in history, and county government functions to the benefit of all Johnson County people.