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.
Today, people from all over the world can experience log flume rides at amusement parks. Arguably one of the most famous flume rides is Disneyland’s “Splash Mountain,” recently refurbished to “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.” This style of ride was created in 1963 by Arrow Development, an engineering and manufacturing company, and was installed in Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas) amusement park as “El Aserradero.” The ride is still in operation today.
Actual log flumes, though, have been enjoyed by the public long before the 1960s. Log flumes were first developed in 1859 by J. W. Haines. His innovation allowed for timber to be moved more easily through difficult terrain by using a source of flowing water.
“Peggy Powers rides down a log flume near Dubois” is the description on this 1930s-1940s photograph in the Riverton Museum archives. The flume she rode down was part of the technological innovations developed by Martin Olsen and the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company. The Wyoming Tie and Timber Company had been cutting railroad ties out of pine trees in the National Forest. As demand for ties increased, the company looked to expand its operations. In search of more timber, they began to exploit the Union Pass area outside of Dubois.
While this site had ample lumber, it also had a steep canyon that ties would tumble down. This fall would ensure damage to ties. Olsen designed a system of flumes that carried ties from the Union Pass area to the Wind River, avoiding the canyon and utilizing water from the Warm Springs Creek. The flumes were finished in 1928 and spanned over nine miles.
These technological innovations, however, were not just used for tie hacking in Fremont County. Residents like Peggy Powers and Maggie Kahin turned these industrial flumes into a fun ride.
Caption: Maggie Kahin riding down a flume near Dubois; Riverton Museum Archives.
But the flumes weren’t the only thrill. One of the photographs held at the Riverton Museum shows a man giving his infant daughter a ride on a conveyer belt used to move ties from the timber yard to railroad cars.
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
August 7, 6pm at the Dubois Museum, “Bighorn Sheep Bow Making with Tom Lucas” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
August 10, 6pm at the Dubois Museum, “Music at the Museum: Allan Morton & the Hired Guns”
August 13, 6:30pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Eagle Spirit Dancers”
August 14, 6:30pm at the Pioneer Museum, “What Happened to the Railroad” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
August 20, 6pm at the Riverton Museum, “Coal Camps at Hudson and Gebo” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
August 30, 7am with the Riverton Museum, “Midvale Irrigation District” Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series
Now thru December, 9-5 at the Riverton Museum, “History Day Exhibits” Shoshone Schools
Oct 4, TBA at the Lander Community Center, “Rare Relics Roadshow” Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation
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 www.windriverccf.com 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. 
Caption: C.E Deardorf Giving Ann Deardorf a Ride of a Railroad Tie; 1914. Two men load ties into railroad cars in the background. Riverton Museum Archives.
It would seem Fremont County residents were experts at co-opting industrial equipment for their own purposes. So, the next time you jump on a flume ride or see a conveyer belt, remember the original log flumes and the people of Fremont County who turned technological innovations into sources of enjoyment and entertainment.