People from Wyoming know how to put their resources to good use, and the town of Bar Nunn is a perfect example.
The little town north of Casper is built on the original site of the county airport. With a few buildings and black-topped runways already in place, one industrious rancher saw what the area had to offer and decided not to let it go to waste.
At first glance, Bar Nunn might seem like most rural Wyoming towns.
Town of Bar Nunn
It’s only about a 10-minute drive from Casper and was once considered a suburb of the larger city.
Google Maps
Long before that, however, the site where the town sits was originally Wardwell Field, the Natrona County airport.
Jimmy Emerson DVM/Flickr The airport closed down in 1952 when the U.S. Air Corps Base moved it to Casper to become the Casper Natrona County International Airport, and the smaller airfield went mostly unused for 2 years.
In 1954, a local rancher purchased the airport and subdivided it, using the existing runways as streets
Google Maps Romie Nunn had originally owned a part of the property before it became an airport. He decided to repurchase it with the idea of building it into a large ranch that he hoped would become a center for horse ranching.
For almost 25 years, the area remained a subdivision of the larger community of Casper.
Town of Bar Nunn In 1958, Rancher Nunn decided to simply subdivide the area rather than pursuing his dream of building a world-class horse ranch. However, he did call it the Bar Nunn Ranch Subdivision and even registered his brand (Bar Nunn, -N) with the Wyoming State Livestock Board.
In 1982, the subdivision officially became a town, original runway-streets and all.
Google Maps
Some of the original buildings are still in use, as well.
Kevin M/TripAdvisor The Hangar, a bar and grill in Bar Nunn, is housed in what used to be an airport building from the Wardwell Field days.
Casper provides Bar Nunn-ers with the usual amenities a town needs, though there is a school and the Casper KOA is actually on the outskirts of Bar Nunn.
campallover/TripAdvisor
The KOA offers a few options for leisure activities such as mini-putt…
Campgroundviews/youtube
…and an indoor swimming pool and hot tub.
Campgroundviews/youtube
Have you visited Bar Nunn? What did you find most interesting about the airport-turned-city?
Town of Bar Nunn
Google Maps
Jimmy Emerson DVM/Flickr
The airport closed down in 1952 when the U.S. Air Corps Base moved it to Casper to become the Casper Natrona County International Airport, and the smaller airfield went mostly unused for 2 years.
Romie Nunn had originally owned a part of the property before it became an airport. He decided to repurchase it with the idea of building it into a large ranch that he hoped would become a center for horse ranching.
In 1958, Rancher Nunn decided to simply subdivide the area rather than pursuing his dream of building a world-class horse ranch. However, he did call it the Bar Nunn Ranch Subdivision and even registered his brand (Bar Nunn, -N) with the Wyoming State Livestock Board.
Kevin M/TripAdvisor
The Hangar, a bar and grill in Bar Nunn, is housed in what used to be an airport building from the Wardwell Field days.
campallover/TripAdvisor
Campgroundviews/youtube
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