Barnum is an unincorporated place in the southwestern part of Johnson County in north-central

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, United States. It lies in the eastern valleys of the

Bighorn Mountains The Bighorn Mountains ( cro, Basawaxaawúua, lit=our mountains or cro, Iisaxpúatahchee Isawaxaawúua, label=none, lit=bighorn sheep's mountains) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a nort ...

. Barnum is at the western terminus of

Wyoming Highway 190 Wyoming Highway 190 (WYO 190) is a state highway in Johnson County, Wyoming. Route description Wyoming Highway 190 begins its western end at the small settlement of Barnum, located southwest of Kaycee. Named Barnum Road, Highway 190 travels ro ...

, approximately 17 miles west of the Kaycee exit off

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

(with

U.S. Route 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

). Mayoworth is several miles north of Barnum, and Big Trails is the nearest place over the Bighorn range. Barnum lies on the Middle Fork of the Powder River. The Middle Fork of the Powder River Recreation Area provides access to canyonlands, hiking, and fishing.

History

Middle Fork of the Powder River Recreation Area preserves prehistoric

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

lines, stone circles, quarry sites, caves, work sites, and rock art. Nearby

Dull Knife Battlefield The Dull Knife Battlefield is located on the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains in Johnson County, Wyoming near Kaycee. It was the scene of the Dull Knife Fight on November 25, 1876, in which the Fourth Cavalry under General Ranald S. Macken ...

is the site of an 1876 battle between the U.S. Army and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

. From the late 1860s to about 1910, the

Hole-in-the-Wall Hole in the Wall may refer to: Colloquial use *In American English, an inconspicuous or unpretentious restaurant or retailer. *In British English, an automated teller machine. *''The Hole In The Wall'', a popular name for a public house. Pla ...

mountain pass was used by outlaws such as

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West. Parker engaged in crimina ...

. Several gangs kept a cabin nearby. Outlaw Cave lies in the Middle Fork Canyon.

References

Unincorporated communities in Johnson County, Wyoming Unincorporated communities in Wyoming {{Wyoming-geo-stub