Big Horn is an unincorporated community and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) in
Sheridan County,
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. The population was 198 at the
2000 census and 490 at the
2010 census.
Geography
Big Horn is on the eastern slope of the Big Horn Mountains, along
Little Goose Creek
Little Goose Creek is a creek originating on the east slope of the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming.
Route
After dropping over and entering a steep canyon, the creek flows out of the Big Horn Mountains and into the Powder River Basin ...
, a tributary of the
Tongue River. The elevation is above sea level. The location of the community is (44.678135, -106.978832).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km
2), all land.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Big Horn has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Culture
Founded in 1882, Big Horn caught the eye of well-to-do cattle and sheep ranchers who established operations along the base of the Big Horn Mountains in the 1890s. These included the sheep-breeding Moncreiffe brothers (from
Clan Moncreiffe
Clan Moncreiffe is a Highland Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pa ...
of the Scottish Highlands),
Oliver Wallop (a member of the English Nobility), Goelet Gallatin (a descendant of
Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan– American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...
US Treasury Secretary under Thomas Jefferson), and
Bradford Brinton
Bradford Brinton (26 June 1880 – 15 February 1936) was a machinery manufacturer whose collections of Western and American Indian art formed the basis of the collections of the Brinton Museum created as a memorial to him by his sister after ...
(a businessman from Chicago). These residents of higher means were a minority among other residents who were owners or tenants on small ranches and farms. This trend has continued to the present day, with a number of distinguished but low-profile executives mixing with ranchers and upper-middle class residents, many of whom work in Sheridan, Wyoming. Land prices have risen dramatically in recent years, resulting in the subdivision of pastures that once served dairy farms and mid-size ranches. The large ranches along the base of the mountains have remained intact and largely undeveloped due to the foresight of residents who have established conservation easements on their properties.
From autumn to spring, most of the community activity in Big Horn centers around its K-12 school, especially during football season. In the summer months the community attracts polo players from around the world, who enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of Big Horn Polo and the Flying H Polo Club in comparison to the more aristocratic experiences to be had in Long Island, Palm Beach, Santa Barbara, Spain, and Argentina. In May, the Big Horn Equestrian Center often hosts the Mars Big Horn Mountain Spring Cup, a soccer tournament for dozens of Wyoming traveling teams. During the tournament three polo fields are converted into 18 regulation-size soccer fields.
Though Big Horn is an unincorporated community, it has several civic organizations including the
volunteer fire department
A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...
, a non-denominational church, Women's Club, Lion's Club, and the Big Horn City Historical Society, which has over 400 members nationwide.
Flying H Polo Club
The Flying H Polo Club is one of the oldest polo clubs west of the Mississippi River.
Polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
first arrived in the area in the 1890s, brought by British expatriates, second sons who did not inherit estates but rather received
remittance
A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes wit ...
payments, who settled on local ranches. Several British men, including Oliver Wallop and the Moncreiffe brothers, began breeding
polo ponies and hosting matches. A unique polo culture emerged in which local cowboys played the game with sons of lords. In the early 1980s, the Big Horn Equestrian Center opened.
Today, matches are hosted throughout the summer with various local teams competing on a Sunday schedule. Participants ride traditional polo ponies.
History
Big Horn is along the valley of
Little Goose Creek
Little Goose Creek is a creek originating on the east slope of the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming.
Route
After dropping over and entering a steep canyon, the creek flows out of the Big Horn Mountains and into the Powder River Basin ...
. From 1866-68, the military cut-off route of the
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route in the western United States, connecting the gold rush territory of southern Montana to the Oregon Trail in eastern Wyoming. Its most important period was from 1863–68. Despite the fact that the major pa ...
crossed Little Goose Creek, where Big Horn was later located. The trail was used by travelers going to gold fields in
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
, but was plagued by Lakota attacks under
Red Cloud
Red Cloud ( lkt, Maȟpíya Lúta, italic=no) (born 1822 – December 10, 1909) was a leader of the Oglala Lakota from 1868 to 1909. He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the United States Army faced in the western ...
.
Fort Phil Kearny
Fort Phil Kearny was an outpost of the United States Army that existed in the late 1860s in present-day northeastern Wyoming along the Bozeman Trail. Construction began in 1866 on Friday, July 13, by Companies A, C, E, and H of the 2nd Battalion, ...
was established on Piney Creek, but continued harassment by the Lakota led to its abandonment and the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Powder River Country under the
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.
According to local historian Glenn Sweem, the main route of the Bozeman Trail did not pass through the site where Big Horn was later founded. It lay farther to the east and followed Prairie Dog Creek, eventually leaving that drainage and taking a course now occupied by 5th Street in
Sheridan. From there the trail crossed Goose Creek and continued out Soldier Creek to present-day Keystone Road, eventually crossing Tongue River between where
Ranchester and
Dayton, Wyoming
Dayton is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 822 at the 2020 census.
History
Dayton was named after Joe Dayton Thorn in 1882 because he was one of the founding fathers of the city. Wyoming's first rodeo was h ...
were later located. (Local artist George Ostrom's mural of the military route of the Bozeman Trail crossing Little Goose Creek is displayed at Big Horn School).
Little Goose Creek
Little Goose Creek is a creek originating on the east slope of the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming.
Route
After dropping over and entering a steep canyon, the creek flows out of the Big Horn Mountains and into the Powder River Basin ...
was the site of
General Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
's camp after the
Battle of the Rosebud
The Battle of the Rosebud (also known as the Battle of Rosebud Creek) took place on June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and its Crow and Shoshoni allies against a force consisting mostly of Lakota Sioux and Nort ...
against the Sioux and Cheyenne on June 17, 1876. Crook was fishing in 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 ...
on Tepee Creek while General
George Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
fell to the Lakota and Cheyenne at the
Little Bighorn, to the north.
The first settler in the Big Horn area was Oliver Perry Hanna, an adventurer, prospector, buffalo hunter, and Indian fighter who built a cabin on Hanna Creek in 1878.
During the winter of 1878–79, he rode his horse north on the frozen Tongue River to hunt buffalo in the Yellowstone River Country. He participated in the massive-hide harvest that wiped out the buffalo on the northern plains. His published recollections told of entire steamships loaded with buffalo hides floating down the Yellowstone River, as well as entire freight trains loaded with buffalo bones. After the buffalo hunting dried up Hanna made a round trip to Fort Laramie to buy seed and a plow, becoming the first farmer to carve a furrow in what became Sheridan County. Hanna attracted many of the first settlers to Big Horn City, which was established in 1882. He operated the Oriental Hotel across the street from the Big Horn Mercantile for many years. William Frackelton, "The Sagebrush Dentist", credited Hanna as the inspiration for the Crow Tribe's involvement in a July 1902 reenactment of the Little Bighorn Battle in Sheridan.
Local legend states that
Frank James
Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger ...
and
Big Nose George
George Parrott (20 March 1834 – 22 March 1881) also known as Big Nose George, Big Beak Parrott, George Manuse, and George Warden, was a cattle rustler and highwayman in the American Wild West in the late 19th century. His skin was made into a p ...
were hiding out along Little Goose Creek in 1878. Supposedly, things got "too hot" for them in the
Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...
, so they headed for the unsettled country near the Big Horn Mountains, where they encountered Hanna. This story has been passed down in the written recollections of early homesteaders, but has not been corroborated with outside historical references or the chronology of the
James Gang
James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), and ...
. The Hilman family employed a mysterious man for a time, who regularly engaged in target practice with his pistol. The family believes this man was
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 ...
, based on a note left on his sudden departure from the ranch which read: "This is the only home I have ever known—Robert Parker."
Polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
was first played in the area at a summer fair in Sheridan in 1893. Among the players in the match were ex-members of the Ninth Lancers division of the English Cavalry who had brought polo from India
Polo History
At one time Big Horn had nearly 1,000 residents and boasted a college, a brick factory, a newspaper, two churches, a hotel, a livery barn, two saloons, and a mercantile. Big Horn made a bid to be the seat of Sheridan County, but a runoff election gave the title to Sheridan in 1888. An exodus of residents and businesses occurred around 1891 when it was learned that the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad was being surveyed through Sheridan. The railroad came to Sheridan in 1893, and since that time Big Horn has been a satellite community of Sheridan. Today Big Horn has a mercantile, two bars, several bed and breakfasts, women's club, Bozeman Trail Museum housed in a restored blacksmith shop, a park, and an art museum several miles up Little Goose Creek at the Moncreiffe/Bradford Brinton Memorial Ranch.
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
stayed in Big Horn in October 1984 during a visit with her friends
Lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...
and Lady Carnarvon (née Jeanne Wallop) at
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and Mrs. Wallop's Canyon Ranch.
The event attracted national media.
Schools
Public education in Big Horn is provided by
Sheridan County School District #1.
Big Horn has a K-12 campus serving nearly 400 students. Graduating classes number approximately 40 students. Standardized test scores are routinely among Wyoming's highest due to small class size, excellent teachers and administration, and an involved community. Recent years have seen several National Merit Scholars and a graduate who was nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship. Several graduates are enrolled in doctoral programs and medical school. Big Horn has also earned a reputation for competitive athletic teams, with several state championships in football, volleyball, and girls basketball in the last decade.
Big Horn School uses a four-day week with classes from 8 am to 4 pm, and teacher in-service days on Friday. Though controversial at its inception, this non-traditional schedule allows for increased teacher training and curriculum development, and reduces the need for students to miss school to attend athletic contests and other extracurricular activities on Fridays. It also allows for a consistent three-day weekend, giving children more time to be nurtured in the home setting.
In 2009, the Wyoming School Facilities Commission approved plans for new school buildings to meet Big Horn's future education needs. In August 2010, construction was completed on a new two-story combined middle school/high school. A new elementary school will also be built on the current school property, in the location of the old middle school/high school which was demolished in the summer of 2010.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 198 people, 72 households, and 51 families residing in the CDP. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 70.3 people per square mile (27.1/km
2). There were 76 housing units at an average density of 27.0/sq mi (10.4/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.98%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.52%
Native American, and 0.51% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.52% of the population. 22.8% were of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 22.0%
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, 19.7%
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and 7.1%
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
ancestry according to
Census 2000
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
.
There were 72 households, out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,344, and the median income for a family was $56,875. Males had a median income of $50,938 versus $25,625 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $23,217. None of the families and 1.2% of the population were living below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
.
Further reading
* Amundson, Michael. ''The Mink and Manure Crowd: The History of an Elite Subculture in Wyoming''. University of Wyoming MA Thesis. 1990. Available through Wyldcat at Sheridan Co. Fulmer Public Library.
* Amundson, Michael. "The British at Big Horn: The Founding of an Elite Wyoming Community," Journal of the West, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Winter 2001): 49-55.
* Amundson, Michael. "These Men Played Real Polo: the History of an Elite Sport in the ‘Cowboy’ state, 1890-1930,” in Montana: the Magazine of Western History 59:1 (Spring 2009), 3-22.
* "Big Horn Pioneers." Published by Big Horn Public Schools, 1961.
* Hunter, Deck. ''Big Horn City: Wyoming Territory''. Volumes I-IV. Self-published, 1991.
* King, Bucky. ''The History of Big Horn Polo''.
Sheridan: Still Sailing, 1987.
* Morton, Sam. ''Where the Rivers Run North.''
* Slack, Judy, the Bozeman Trail Museum and the Big Horn Historical Society. ''Images of America: Big Horn City.'' Arcadia Publishing, 2011.
* Big Horn community oral histories conducted by several local historians are available in the Wyoming Room of the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library.
* Rucker, Kevin. ''Where Time Stands Still: The History of the Dome Lake Club.'' 2001.
See also
*
List of census-designated places in Wyoming
This article lists census-designated places (CDPs) in the U.S. state of Wyoming. At the 2020 census, there were a total of 106 census-designated places in Wyoming.
Census-Designated Places
See also
* List of municipalities in Wyoming
* Index ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Sheridan County, Wyoming
Census-designated places in Wyoming
Populated places established in 1882
1882 establishments in Wyoming Territory