Shoshoni, Wyoming
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Shoshoni is a town in
Fremont County, Wyoming Fremont County is a County (United States), 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, Wyoming, Lander. T ...
, United States. The population was 471 at the 2020 census, a 27.4% decline from 649 at the 2010 census. The town has gained notoriety as a speed trap due to numerous references citing its aggressive enforcement of traffic laws. According to available data, the town has a 32% ticket to resident rate, suggesting a disproportionate number of traffic tickets issued to drivers passing through the area. This has led to criticism and controversy surrounding the town's policing practices.


History

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 Americans in the United States, Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone (, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Norther ...
. 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 a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
are open. Visitors also stop to camp and fish at nearby
Boysen Reservoir Boysen Reservoir is a reservoir formed by Boysen Dam, an earth-fill dam on the Wind River (Wyoming), Wind River in the central part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is near the town of Shoshoni, Wyoming, Shoshoni in Fremont County, Wyoming, Fre ...
and the surrounding Boysen State Park. Anglers participate in fishing derbies at the reservoir, including an ice fishing derby in the winter.
Ranching A ranch (from /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 farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...
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 American 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 ...
, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. 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 the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
, 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, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. 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, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
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 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. In 2009, the facility was up put up for sale and purchased in January 2020 by Iglesia Ni Cristo, a Philippines-based religious sect 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, 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 town has a total area of , all land.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
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 Boysen Reservoir is a reservoir formed by Boysen Dam, an earth-fill dam on the Wind River (Wyoming), Wind River in the central part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is near the town of Shoshoni, Wyoming, Shoshoni in Fremont County, Wyoming, Fre ...
, 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 (Wyoming), Wind River. It is located between the towns of Shoshoni, Wyoming, Shoshoni and Thermopolis, Wyoming, Thermopolis and is a popular stop for visitors to Yellowstone National P ...
and joins the Big Horn River at the Wedding of the Waters at the canyon egress.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2020, there were 471 people and 237 households residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was . There were 278 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.3%
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 ...
, 0.6%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.4% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 2.3% from other races, and 6.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 7.8% of the population. There were 237 households, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.9% 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 16.3% were age 65 or older. The average family size was 4.06. The median age in the town was 40.4 years. 35.2% of residents were under the age of 20; 8.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 41.0% were from 45 to 64; and 21.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.0% male and 49.0% female.


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 649 people, 278 households, and 180 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
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 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 ...
, 1.1%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 5.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino 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 (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 635 people, 246 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was 192.1 people per square mile (74.1/km2). There were 322 housing units at an average density of 97.4 per square mile (37.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 93.39%
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 ...
, 0.16%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.26% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.94% from other races, and 3.15% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
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 ...
, 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 one campus – Shoshoni Elementary School (grades K–12)


Transportation

Weekly intercity bus service to Cheyenne and Billings, MT is provided by
Express Arrow Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Ex ...
.


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'', and ''Gone with the Wi ...
(1907–1972), actress on Broadway and in Hollywood, especially in the 1930s and early 1940s


In popular culture

Marcus Sakey, 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