One of the most fun parts of a road trip is stopping at roadside attractions, and Wyoming has plenty of oddities and unique features scattered across the great state. If you’re out for a drive in Carbon County, be sure to stop by Encampment, home of the Grand Encampment Museum. You’ll find one of the most diverse collections of historic artifacts, clothing, and items from mining camps in the state. This museum of history is distinctive for the unexpected things you’ll see there such as a stuffed dog (we’re talking taxidermy, not a plush toy), a two-story outhouse, and Noah’s Ark, though the museum makes no claims that it is the original biblical boat.
The Grand Encampment Museum is at 807 Barnett Avenue in Grand Encampment.
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Grand Encampment Museum Inc./Facebook
The museum is a bit off the beaten path, a few miles south of Riverside on Wyoming Highway 70.
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Fourteen historic buildings have been preserved and arranged as a frontier town, complete with wooden sidewalks.
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Carbon County was a copper mining area back in the day but, before the railroad came this far west, trams were used to transport ore from the mines in the mountains to the smelter in Encampment over 16 miles away. Tramway towers with ore buckets hanging from the cables still stand on the grounds today.
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Every frontier town should include at least one genuine log cabin.
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The ground floor of this two-story outhouse is easily accessible in the summer, but adding on the second story was a necessity because of the deep snow drifts in the winter.
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In life, Teddy belonged to Hettie Kyner, a seamstress who lived in Encampment around 1901. Hettie loved Teddy so much that she couldn’t bear to part with him after he was hit by a wagon. He now sits eternal watch at the Grand Encampment Museum.
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The museum hosts several fund raising events throughout the season such as book signings, speaker events, and a spring tea and fashion show featuring clothes fashioned by Hettie Kyner herself.
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Life in a mining town isn’t all work. A display including a roulette wheel and vintage slot machine attest to that.
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Casino night at the museum is a nod to Encampment’s gambling heritage and another fun fundraiser if you happen to visit at the right time.
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Along the boardwalk you’ll find a bakery and ice cream parlor, a stage station, and a transportation barn.
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Many of the buildings are set up to display clothing and items from the past.
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One of the displays features a late 1800s folding bathtub.
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Outside, the museum grounds are also filled with history including authentic carts and covered wagons.
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Those are just a handful of the things displayed at the museum.
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Grand Encampment Museum Inc./Facebook
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Mark Goebel/Flickr
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Have you ever visited Grand Encampment? What was most memorable for you?
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