Sundance, WYJul 2, 2009
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Sundance in "jail" outside the Courthouse and museum!
view across the street from the courthouse
bank built in 1914, never been robbed
The town and nearby mountain got their names because of the Indian dance and ritual called the Sundance. Harry Longabaugh adopted the outlaw name of “The Sundance Kid” after being jailed for 18 months in Sundance for stealing a horse when he was young. He was found in Montana but escaped the first time he was being brought back to Sundance, even while being chained and tied to a seat on a train. So, he was the Houdini of his day!
Crook County got its name from a surveyor, not because of its crooks! The county museum is free and is in the basement of the courthouse. There are a lot of things on display showing life in the early days, even going back to some of the artifacts found in the Vore Buffalo Jump. A rich guy from Chicago came out to the area and built a ranch (Ranch A on a dirt road just south of Beulah), hired a famous furniture maker to furnish the home, then invited lots of his cronies to come visit, bet on horse races, and get away from pressures of Chicago (think mafia). Lots of that furniture is on display here - we can't visit Ranch A, only drive by it.
