Emblem (also Germania or Liberty Bench) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in western Big Horn County,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the 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 southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, United States. The community has an official population of 10, although the surrounding rural area increases the number to over 100. It lies along the

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

U.S. Routes 14, 16 and 20, west-northwest of the town of Basin, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Big Horn County. Its elevation is . Although Emblem is unincorporated, it has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, with the ZIP code of 82422.

History

Emblem was founded in 1896 when Solon Wiley's Big Horn Basin Development Company brought irrigation to the Emblem Bench. Lutheran Germans settled there. The area now known as Emblem was once called Germania Bench after a settlement of German Lutherans arrived to farm the land. The name became a subject of Anti-German sentiment during the first World War and the surrounding communities demanded that it be changed. Specifically, the community was told that the new name should be an "emblem of liberty." Accordingly, the name was changed to Emblem and the area was often referred to as "Liberty Bench."

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, Emblem has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "BWk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Emblem was on June 30, 2007, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 31, 1978.

Education

Public education in the community of Emblem is provided by Big Horn County School District #3. The district has three campuses – Greybull Elementary School (grades K-5), Greybull Middle School (6-8), and Greybull High School (9-12).

References

{{authority control German-American culture in Wyoming Unincorporated communities in Big Horn County, Wyoming Unincorporated communities in Wyoming