A Traveling Trunks program, a website of history-themed GIS maps, and a research article about Otto Franc were all projects from Park County recently conferred awards by the Wyoming Historical Society. 

Each year the Wyoming Historical Society recognizes the work of organizations and individuals who have made worthy contributions to the research and promotion of Wyoming history. At its recent annual meeting in Newcastle, the historical society honored numerous projects from around the state. 

The Homesteader Museum in Powell, under the direction and supervision of Brandi Wright, won the top honor in the Activities Award category for the museum’s Traveling Trunks program. The three-year AmeriCorps VISTA project involved the curation of artifacts, learning activities, and lesson plans on various themes of Park County history. The trunks include topics on homesteading, farming, irrigation — the Shoshone Project and the Buffalo Bill Dam, Powell: Then & Now, and Wyoming women in politics. The Traveling Trunks program embodies the Homesteader Museum’s commitment to preserving the essence of history for future generations. The trunks can be borrowed for use in classrooms or any educational setting to bring the past to life. 

The Park County Archives in Cody won an award for a collection of interactive GIS maps featuring photographs and materials from the archives. The maps are a way to document the many places and stories of Park County, in addition to serving as a repository for historic buildings and structures. They offer local history researchers a new means to explore the history of Park County and access the collections of the Park County Archives. The GIS Maps were awarded in the category of Historical Websites. 

Finally, Brian Beauvais, curator of the Park County Archives, won the award in the category of Magazine Publications for his article — “Otto Franc: Cattle Baron of the Bighorn Basin” — which was published in the winter 2023 edition of Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal. The article draws from a plethora of historical sources to piece together how Franc established the Pitchfork Ranch and his open range cattle operation in the Big Horn Basin when the area was still an isolated frontier. 

The Park County Archives in Cody and the Homesteader Museum in Powell collect and organize a great deal of information related to the history of Park County, its towns, people, businesses and important events, in order to promote and accommodate the study and accessibility of local history.