About the Museum

Stand at a bar where Butch Cassidy and other Outlaws used to belly up to! Take your picture next to a mount of a wolf that was once a member of a Yellowstone pack! Immerse yourself in the stories and memorabilia of the Arapahoe, Shoshone and other pioneers to the region! Touch an original stagecoach that once took tourists on rides through Yellowstone National Park! Stroll through a remade model of early Thermopolis and peer through the windows of an old Country store, jail cell, photography shop, seamstress shop and more!

Our museum is run by a dedicated team of four part-time employees, including a director, two curators, and a custodian / landscaper. We are proud to be overseen by a board of trustees and work closely with the Hot Springs County Pioneer Association and the Hot Springs County Historical Society. 

Beginning

The main museum building was originally constructed as a garage in the early 1900s. Over the years it also housed a Coca Cola bottling plant, a bowling alley and the Technical College of the Rockies.

1929

In 1929, early Hot Springs County residents formed the Hot Springs County Pioneer Association to preserve the history of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County. Two of the early Association members were Dora McGrath and Virginia Bridger Hahn. Dora was the first woman to serve in the Wyoming State Senate, and Virginia was the daughter of famous mountain man Jim Bridger.

1938 & 1941

In 1938, the pioneers set their sights on developing a museum, and their dream became a reality when on July 4, 1941, they held a grand opening for what was then called the Pioneer Museum. This original structure was a log building that was constructed of logs, and was situated on Springview Street on land they leased from the Town of Thermopolis. The cabin was constructed by Pioneer Association members, other volunteers from the community, and employees of the Works Progress Administration (a Depression-era project to provide employment for young men out of work).

1967 & 1976

When the lack of funding threatened the museum’s continued existence, the County took over Museum operations. In 1967 a fire damaged the museum building and artifacts, and after repairs were made to the museum, they reopened, but knew that another building was needed. In 1976, the museum location was chosen as the site for a new elementary school, and the following year, the County purchased the old Garage building at 700 Broadway, and the Museum collection is moved. Since that time, community members still donate historic items to the collections to ensure the preservation of the physical reminders of the area history.

1982

In 1982, four lots across the street from the Museum building were purchased for Museum expansion. This allowed room to move in an early twentieth century school house, a poverty shack, caboose, two large buildings for new displays as well as open-air exhibits consisting of historic farming, ranching and mining equipment.