Shoshoni is a town in
Fremont County, Wyoming
Fremont County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 39,234, making it the fifth-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Lander. The county was founded in 1884 and is name ...
, United States. The population was 471 at the
2020 census, down from 649 at the
2010 census. The town is named for the Shoshone Indian tribe, most of whom live on the nearby
Wind River Indian Reservation
The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone ( shh, Gweechoon Deka, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Northern Arapaho ( arp, ...
.
History
Established as a railroad and mining town, Shoshoni lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes
20 and
26, which together were formerly known as the "Yellowstone Highway". Shoshoni has a dramatic increase in visitors in the summer, when roads to
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
are open. Visitors also stop to camp and fish at nearby
Boysen Reservoir and the surrounding
Boysen State Park
Boysen State Park is a public recreation area surrounding the Boysen Reservoir, an impoundment of the north-flowing Wind River, in Fremont County, Wyoming. The state park covers more than at the south end of the Owl Creek Mountains at the mo ...
. Anglers participate in
fishing derbies at the reservoir, including an ice fishing derby in the winter.
Ranching
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
is, and has been for decades, the major agricultural endeavor in the nearby area.
Charles Henry King
Charles Henry King (March 12, 1853 – February 27, 1930) was an Omaha businessman and banker who was instrumental in founding several cities in the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. He saw opportunity with the expansion of the railroad west and bu ...
, a prominent millionaire businessman and banker later based in Omaha, Nebraska, built the
C.H. King Company and First Union Bank Building, formerly occupied by Yellowstone Drug Store. The building is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. King and his wife Martha were the paternal grandparents of President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
, who was born in their Omaha house in July 1913.
In 2004 a water-intensive mushroom processing plant began operation on land that was annexed by the town and put within its limits. At first it was staffed by prison labor, who were paid minimum wage, in a prison industries program. When they had trouble with production, the plant hired skilled labor from
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. This labor practice stopped when a
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
investigation revealed that some of the workers had problems with their immigration histories. More recently, the plant has ensured all migrant workers are legal. During operations, the plant's composting bunkers emitted unpleasant odors, resulting in numerous complaints from residents during 2005. The
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) founded in 1973, is a Wyoming state agency to protect, conserve and enhance the environment of Wyoming "through a combination of monitoring, permitting, inspection, enforcement and restoration/re ...
investigated the situation and air quality issues. The plant installed a stack and ventilating system in early 2006 to control and disperse odor from the composting bunkers. As of early May 2009, the facility was up for sale.
In January, 2020, the Iglesia Ni Cristo, a Philippines-based religious sect, purchased the facility with the intent of using local "honor based" labor to work in the facility.
Geography
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 town has a total area of , 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, Shoshoni 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 Shoshoni was on July 16, 1935 and July 10, 1939, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 5, 1942.
Shoshoni's closest body of water is
Boysen Reservoir, which is also the confluence of the
Wind River, Badwater Creek and Poison Creek. As the water exits the dam it flows into the
Wind River Canyon
Wind River Canyon is a scenic Wyoming canyon on the Wind River. It is located between the towns of Shoshoni and Thermopolis and is a popular stop for visitors to Yellowstone National Park. It is accessible by U.S. Highway 20 and Wyoming Highwa ...
and joins the
Big Horn River at the
Wedding of the Waters at the canyon egress.
Demographics
2010 census
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 2010, there were 649 people, 278 households, and 180 families residing in the town. 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 . There were 337 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.1%
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 ...
, 1.1%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 5.1%
Native American, 0.6%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.6% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.5% 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 9.6% of the population.
There were 278 households, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.3% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.83.
The median age in the town was 39.3 years. 25.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.0% male and 49.0% female.
2000 census
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 635 people, 246 households, and 171 families residing in the town. 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 192.1 people per square mile (74.1/km
2). There were 322 housing units at an average density of 97.4 per square mile (37.6/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 93.39%
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 ...
, 0.16%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.26%
Native American, 1.10%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.94% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.15% 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 3.94% of the population.
There were 246 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $37,045. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $14,479 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 town was $12,584. About 7.1% of families and 8.3% of the population were 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 ...
, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education in the town of Shoshoni is provided by
Fremont County School District #24. The district has three campuses – Shoshoni Elementary School (grades PK–6), Shoshoni Junior High School (grades 7–8) and
Shoshoni High School (grades 9–12).
Notable people
*
Isabel Jewell
Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were '' Ceiling Zero'', ''Marked Woman'', ''A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film), A Tale ...
(1907–1972), actress on Broadway and in Hollywood, especially in the 1930s and early 1940s
In popular culture
Marcus Sakey
Marcus Sakey is an American author and host of the Travel Channel show ''Hidden City''.
Personal life
Sakey was born in Flint, Michigan, and after marriage he settled in Chicago. Before becoming a writer, Sakey used to run a graphic design comp ...
, in his ''Brilliance'' trilogy, lists Shoshoni as one of the three entrances (along with
Gillette
Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...
and
Rawlins) to the New Canaan Holdfast, a large portion of Wyoming land owned by "abnorms".
References
{{authority control
Towns in Fremont County, Wyoming
Towns in Wyoming