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Pioneers of Outlaw Country: Wyoming History
Welcome to Pioneers of Outlaw Country: Wyoming History where we dive deep into the rugged, untamed spirit of Wyoming's rich history.
I’m your host, Jackie Dorothy. So pleased to meet you! I am a historian, journalist and memoir coach and you can find me at legendrockmedia.com. I’m the seventh generation of my family living in Wyoming and currently live near Thermopolis on the Wind River Reservation. My passion is to make history come alive!
Many of these stories have been forgotten and the pioneers are relatively unknown. Join us for a journey back into time that is fun for the entire family and students of any age!
This podcast series has been supported by our partners; the Hot Springs County Pioneer Association, the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the Wyoming Humanities, and the Wyoming Office of Transportation.
Episodes
35 episodes
Dangerous Work: Building the Yellowstone Highway
Dangerous Work: Building the Yellowstone Highway Blasting a road through Wyoming’s Wind River Canyon in the 1920s was like chiseling a trail into the jaws of a granite beast—complete with dynamite, sheer cliffs, and the constant thr...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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11:38
The Good Roads Club
The Good Roads Clubs in Wyoming were like the cheerleaders of the early highway system—rallying townsfolk, wrangling funds, and literally paving the way to Yellowstone National Park, turning bumpy wagon trails into smooth rides for motorists in...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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12:27
Dynamite Adventures: Working on the Railroad
Blasting Through The Wind River CanyonBlazing a railroad through Wind River Canyon in the early 1900s was essentially hand-painting a snake’s skeleton—rugged crews, dynamite, burros, and sheer drops that would make a circus tightrope loo...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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13:36
Ghost Town: Birdseye, Wyoming
A gold rush in the Copper Mountains of Wyoming brought 2,000 miners into the area in 1906. By 1909, nearly everyone was gone. For just a brief moment in time, hopes of a rich strike even excited Wyoming Governor Brooks who boasted of the future...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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29:29
Bighorn River Ferry: Dangerous Crossings
The Bighorn River is a dangerous river in the Bighorn Basin and has claimed numerous lives in its depths. Lives were lost when high water would sweep away entire families. The ferries made crossing the dangerous Bighorn River safer ...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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13:25
Stagecoach Radio Drama Starring John Wayne
Welcome to a special edition of Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Today you are in for a treat. Grab your popcorn as we dive into an old-time radio show. As I was researching the stage routes of Wyoming, my internet searches kept directin...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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35:21
The Dangerous Birds Eye Stage Route
Wrecks, highway robbery and rockslides awaited the stage coaches that dared venture over Birds Eye Pass. This dangerous stage line route was full of peril but despite the risks, the stage coach ran every day, except Sunday. Join us ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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24:43
Mischievous Mules of Wyoming: Building the Wind River Canyon
When the mountain man brought the first mischievous mule into Wyoming he was unaware of the importance this stubborn, irritating critter would play in building the state. As we continue celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Yell...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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28:42
Skeletons of Badwater Creek: A Wyoming Territory Mystery
16 skeletons, over an 80 year time span, were found along the banks of the Badwater Creek. Who were they and who murdered these people while Wyoming was still only a territory? Their stories were buried in old newspapers...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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24:14
History Tour of the Yellowstone Highway
Journey with us through the rich and adventurous history of the Yellowstone Highway through the Wind River Canyon, now a scenic by-way. From its rugged landscapes to the tales etched into its cliffs, this byway has seen it all.We kick of...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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32:29
Sheriff Rice: Wyoming Justice
Sheriff Virgil Rice was tough-as-nails and respected throughout Wyoming. He was known to "get his man" and tracked down horse thieves across the Cowboy State in the 1890's. It is believed by residents and historians that he was on...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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34:32
1885 Cattle Round Up: Wyoming Cowboy
The strike of a rattlesnake, the danger of stampede, the whistling of cowboys, the swish of a lasso and the sting of the hot sun. The cowboys on round-up are a true pioneer of Wyoming. Welcome to another episode of...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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9:23
Fact to Fiction: The Real Inspiration for The Virginian
The Harvard student of law bent over his journal, writing in camp light and by kerosene. He was capturing the words that he would one day use to write the most popular Western fiction in the world. In 1885, a young tourist arrived ...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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13:03
The 1880's Tourist to Wyoming
When we think of the early visitors of Wyoming, we think of the cowboys, homesteaders, miners and others coming to the West to make their fortune. There was another group of young men who came west on the trains and stagecoaches. These were you...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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10:16
Lost Journals of Owen Wister
The faded pencil script spelled out rough poems, descriptions of sunsets and hangings, saloon scenes, cowboy tall tales, the wide-open prairie and the sharp retort of the gun. From Owen Wister’s pen, the cowboy myth was born a...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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8:46
David Picard: Cowboy Prankster
The most famous cowboy prank in Wyoming... may never have happened. Or did it? In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister tells of a baby swapping prank that happened at a rural dance. It was common practice in those day...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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23:21
Peeshee: Wyoming's Waltzing Mouse
When Owen Wister brought his family to Wyoming in 1912, they brought along a special friend: Peeshee, the waltzing mouse. The inclusion of this tiny tourist in their family gives us insight into the Wister family dynamics and their love of natu...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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11:08
Owen Wister: The Tenderfoot
"Young man, go west!"Among the cowboys and frontiersmen, miners and homesteaders were a group of young adventurers - the rich young tenderfoot. These tourists were not seeking their fortunes but were tourists, looking to get away from t...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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22:19
The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains
In 1902, the most popular book in America was The Virginian by Owen Wister. This book changed America's perspective on the cowboy and turned the once maligned cowhand into a romantic hero.Told at times through the eyes of the Tend...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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44:00
The Outlaw & the Flying Saucer
In 1903, Tom O'Day was villainized in the newspapers as a notorious horse thief but his friends and acquaintances defended him as a cheerful Irishman who may embellish a brand once in awhile. That February he was unarmed when, suddenly, he was ...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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11:52
Hello 1884! New Year's Predictions, Superstitions & more
Happy New Year! What better way to celebrate than to travel back in time to 1884 in the Wyoming Territory. Warning... Sprinkled in with the 1884 New Years predictions are superstitions and even an old-fashioned romance. We are cel...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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20:57
The Lost Owl Creek Colony
They were daring adventurers, forgers of a new life, homesteaders …. and forgotten to history. These vanished people were true pioneers of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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17:39
Ben Hanson, The Outlaw Who Founded a Town
He was the founder of Thermopolis, well-respected businessman and cattleman, a dashing bachelor, expert horseman and a murderer. This cattleman and businessman was a true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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25:10
