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.
Fur trappers had ventured into the region of the upper Wind River as early as 1807; however, settlement would not occur for a few decades. The first settler, Oran M. Clark, built a windowless, one room log cabin near the mouth of the DuNoir Creek. He was a squatter who was nicknamed “Old Man” Clark and “Wind River Clark”. Clark was born on September 25, 1832, in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend had been established by fur traders around 1820 and was laid out as the county seat by 1831 with only 128 residents. He had been married and had several children. One of his sons was Kay Clark who had co-owned the first bar in Dubois in 1909, along with the feed stables, and blacksmith shop. Kay had been married to Lydia Battles who later married Martin Olsen, manager of the Wyoming Tie and Lumber Company.
Clark was well educated and had ventured west in search of gold after the Civil War. He first settled in Atlantic City, Wyoming, and settled in the upper Wind River region around 1871. That date has been contested as some say he did not arrive until 1876. Clark was considered a squatter because he never filed an official claim on his property. He often discouraged homesteaders who tried to settle on what he considered his land in the upper DuNoir Creek. During the summer of 1871, the area of Yellowstone had been explored by the Hayden Expedition, and Congress would create the world’s first national park six months later. In the 1872 report, a massive need for roads was indicated in the park.
Clark was a hunter and trapper but was known as a poor shot, although he sold wolf and coyote pelts. By 1882, Clark found a little gold in placer mines near Big Warm Spring Creek. According to Russell Beck, that same year there had been a blizzard for five days, and the snow was so deep that it took all day to get from Clark’s cabin to Jakey’s Fork. He organized a small mining company and built a few buildings on Warm Springs Creek. These cabins would later be used as the headquarters for the Wyoming Tie and Lumber Company.
Clark greeted everyone with his Winchester. In 1883, President Arthur, along with his military guard and Togwotee as his guide, traversed the valley on their way to explore the new Yellowstone Park. The park was eleven years old. According to the legend, Clark had ordered them off of land when they approached his cabin. General Sheridan tried to explain that “this is the President of the United States,” to which Clark replied, “I don’t care what he’s president of, he is camping on my property without permission, and I want him off.” The camp was moved.
As Clark’s health deteriorated in 1910, he had informed John Helm (neighbor and fellow early resident) that he would fire off a shot when he was ready to “kick off”. He fired the shot, but it had not been heard by Helm because of the blizzard conditions that evening. When Helm visited the Clark cabin the next day, he found Clark was dead. Clark had left $500 for his funeral expenses, and an additional $500 for whiskey for his wake. He was buried in the small hill near the start of the road up Union Pass. Nobe Harrison recalled that when several men went to bury Clark, they found his whiskey cache. They stuck Clark’s body in the snow outside his cabin and warmed themselves with his whiskey. It took them several days to get through the whiskey, construct a coffin, and to carve a grave into the frozen ground. Today, his memorial can be seen from the west side of the road as you start up the base Union Pass.
Author: Seth McFarland
Photo caption: Oren Clark Monument, Union Pass: Courtesy Andrea Billingsley
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
March 29, 1-3pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Celebrating Women’s History Month” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
April 19, 1-3pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Sheep Shearing Day” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
April 26, 9-2 with the Pioneer Museum, “Garden Expo Craft Booth” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
May 22, 7pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Lander 1925” Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series
May 24, 1-3pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Being a Pioneer Kid” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
May 24, 10am at the Pioneer Museum, “Lander Main Street Trek” Wind River Visitors Council Adventure Trek Series
May 31, 11am at the Riverton Museum, “Horned Owl Draper Raptor Experience” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
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 to be used specifically for the benefit of the museum of your choosing by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.