Freedom, Wyoming
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Freedom is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in both northeastern
Caribou County, Idaho Caribou County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 7,027. The county seat and largest city is Soda Springs. History Robert Stuart explored the area of Soda Springs in 1812. ...
, and northwestern
Lincoln County, Wyoming Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 19,581. Its county seat is Kemmerer. Its western border abuts the eastern borders of the states of Idaho and Utah. History Linc ...
, in the United States; the Wyoming portion of the community is also a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...
(CDP). The population was 247 at the 2020 census.


Geography

Located on U.S. Route 89 and Idaho State Highway 34, Freedom sits on the Idaho/Wyoming state line. It lies northeast of the city of Soda Springs, the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Caribou County, and north of Kemmerer, the county seat of Lincoln County; the nearest significant community is
Afton, Wyoming Afton is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. Afton is home to the world's largest arch made of elk antlers. Spanning across the four lanes of U.S. Highway 89, the arch, completed in ...
, approximately to the south, along U.S. Route 89. Although Freedom is unincorporated, its Wyoming side has a
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, with the ZIP code of 83120. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , all land.


History

Freedom was established in 1879, and today it remains the oldest settlement in the Star Valley. Similar to Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah, the community was settled as a
border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...
by Mormon polygamists in order to escape arrest for polygamy: they could be free from Idaho police simply by walking into Wyoming. The community was named for the freedom it gave these early settlers. At one time, Freedom was the largest settlement in the Star Valley. There was a general store, a gas station, billiard hall, and other establishments. Today some of the old buildings still stand, but very few are still in use. The Post Office and Baseball Park are still used, along with the LDS Church, which was built in 1889. The headquarters of
Freedom Arms Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Idaho and Wyoming, Freedom, Wyoming–based gun manufacturer , firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to pr ...
, a gun factory and maker of a .454 Casull handgun, is located in the Wyoming portion of the community.


Demographics

The population of the ZCTA for ZIP Code 83120 was 471 at the 2000 census, with a racial makeup of 98.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, and 1.5% some other race.


Education

The Freedom, Wyoming census-designated place is in Lincoln County School District 2.
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Notable people

* Rulon Gardner, Greco-Roman wrestler who was born and raised in Star Valley. * Randall Luthi, the former Speaker of the
Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming State Legislature. There are 62 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the Wyoming, st ...
resides in Freedom.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom, Idaho And Wyoming Unincorporated communities in Caribou County, Idaho Census-designated places in Lincoln County, Wyoming