Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
685-2700,
www.wingatehotels.com
,
$118-214), all of which offer a multitude of plush
amenities for road-weary travelers. The
Fairfield Inn & Suites Gillette
(2577 S. Douglas
Hwy., 307/682-1717,
www.marriott.com
,
$99-209) is the perfect place to stay if you want
to spend time in the indoor water park.
This is a mining town with more workers than there are homes for them to live in. As
such, plenty of miners stay in hotels long-term, and hotel rooms can be hard to come by.
Book early.
If you are attending an event at Cam-Plex, they have campgrounds available on-site. Other-
wise, the two other campgrounds in town are the
High Plains Campground
(1600 Garner
Lake Rd., 307/687-7339, year-round) with 65 RV sites, tent sites, a laundry, showers, and
grills; and the interestingly named
Green Tree Crazy Woman Campground
(1001 W. 2nd
St., 307/682-3665, year-round), with 85 RV sites, tent sites, a pool, clean restrooms, and,
especially important in the summer, shaded sites.
THE JOHNSON COUNTY WAR
With lush grasslands and rich river valleys ideal for grazing animals, Powder River
country was long a popular area for both Native Americans and early homesteaders.
The battles between the Indians and settlers for this territory are well documented.
But the confrontations among white settlers were equally contentious, none more so
than the Johnson County War.
Between 1875 and 1884, hundreds of thousands of cattle were brought to or
through the Powder River Basin. Cattle barons were quick to realize that the rich,
wide-open grasslands were perfect to sustain their herds. By the late 1870s and early
1880s, homesteaders were competing with the cattle barons for the land. Numerous
settlers moved in and began putting up fences, plowing land, and raising their live-
stock. Also during this time, there was further competition from smaller cattlemen
known as rustlers, who also appropriated land, and at times stray cattle, for their
herds.
In 1892, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, made up of influential ranch-
ers, planned to rid themselves of this ever-increasing problem in Johnson County.
The plan was simple: Hire men who would terminate anyone infringing on their ter-
