A series where we take a #lookback at the stories and history of our community, brought to you by Mick Pryor, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones.
Each April, communities across the United States pause to celebrate Arbor Day—a tradition that began in Nebraska City in 1872 and grew into a nationwide call to plant and care for trees. By 1907, Theodore Roosevelt elevated its importance through an official proclamation, the same year the nation’s “forest reserves” were formally renamed National Forests. While Arbor Day is rooted in renewal, it also offers a moment to reflect on the deep and complex history of trees—especially in places like Wyoming, where forests tell stories that stretch across millennia.
High in the windswept reaches of the Beartooth Plateau within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, scientists recently uncovered a striking reminder of that history: more than 30 ancient whitebark pine trees, long entombed in ice. Preserved for thousands of years, these trees only emerged as melting ice patches revealed them to modern eyes. Today, living whitebark pines still cling to survival in the high subalpine zones of the Wind River Range and Absaroka Range, though they face mounting threats from disease, beetle infestations, and climate change. For Indigenous mountain communities, these trees were once vital—providing nutrient-rich seeds for winter and sturdy wood for tools.
Another enduring species of Wyoming’s high country is the limber pine, a hardy relative of the whitebark and one of the region’s five-needle pines. In Grand Teton National Park, not far from Dubois, stands a remarkable survivor known as Old Patriarch. Estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,500 years old, this solitary tree has withstood centuries of harsh alpine weather. Limber pines, among the oldest non-clonal organisms in Wyoming, also grow in places like the Gros Ventre Wilderness and the Owl Creek Mountains. Yet like their whitebark cousins, they too are increasingly vulnerable to disease and insect outbreaks.
The story of Wyoming’s trees stretches even further back in time—into the fossil record. Across Fremont County, fragments of petrified wood from the Eocene epoch occasionally surface underfoot, remnants of ancient forests that thrived in a very different climate. The Absaroka Mountains near Dubois yield fossilized leaves and agate limb casts, long prized by collectors. However, increased interest has led to the depletion of some sites. Protected areas like the Dry Creek Petrified Environmental Education Area now preserve these treasures for public education, while institutions such as the Dubois Museum showcase exceptional examples from the region.
Trees have not only recorded natural history—they have also borne witness to human stories. In the Shoshone National Forest, within the remote Washakie Wilderness, a remarkable artifact was discovered: a tree carved in 1893 by a surveying party led by Phillip M. Gallaher. Sent to define the boundaries of what would become the nation’s first national forest, the team left their names etched into the bark. Rediscovered more than a century later, the fragile tree was recovered by the state in 2025 and will be preserved at the Wyoming State Museum.
Such carvings are part of a broader tradition known as arborglyphs or dendroglyphs—human-made markings etched into living trees, often aspen trees. Throughout the Rocky Mountains, including in Fremont County, explorers, cowboys, and Basque shepherds once carved names, dates, and intricate images into bark. These markings, created primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries, are now recognized as cultural artifacts. They offer glimpses into the lives of those who passed through these forests, though modern visitors are urged to preserve rather than add to them.
Arbor Day reminds us to plant for the future, but Wyoming’s forests remind us that trees are also keepers of the past—living witnesses to environmental change, cultural traditions, and the passage of time itself.
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
April 18, 9am with the Pioneer Museum, “Garden Expo” Bailey’s Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
April 25, 1pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Sheep Shearing Day” Bailey’s Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
May 2, 10am at the Pioneer Museum, “Branding Class” Bailey’s Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
May 14, 7pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Lander 100 Years Ago” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
May 14, 6pm at the Riverton Museum, “Cowboy Poetry & Roundtable with Jack Schmidt” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
May 23, 10am at the Dubois Museum, “Kids Corner: Blacksmithing History” Bailey’s Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
May 30, 2pm at the Riverton Museum, “Draper Raptor Experience” Bailey’s Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
Daily through December at the Pioneer Museum, “Sweetwater Ranch Life, The Paintings of Jack Corbett” Exhibition Opening
Rare Relics Road Show: Save the Date: Saturday October 10, 2026 Lander, WY Lander Community Center, You Are Invited!
Call the Dubois Museum 1-307-455-2284, the Pioneer Museum 1-307-332-3339 or the Riverton Museum 1-307-856-2665 for detail regarding their programs.
The Dubois Museum, the Pioneer Museum in Lander and the Riverton Museum need your financial support. In the current economic environment, the museums are more reliant than ever on donations from the private sector to continue to provide the quality programs, collections management, exhibits and services that have become their hallmark over the last four years. Please make your tax deductible contribution through the Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation https://windriverccf.funraise.org/ or by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.