Dubois, Wyoming
Encyclopedia
Dubois is a town in Fremont County, Wyoming
. The population was 962 at the 2000 census
, although it nearly doubles in the summer with many part-time residents.
of 2115 m (6940 ft). The Wind River
runs through the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²), of which, 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) of it is land and 0.38% is water.
The first occupants of the mountains and valleys surrounding what is now Dubois were members of the Sheepeaters, a group of Mountain Shoshone
, who included the Wind River area in their regular annual migrations from the Great Plains through the mountains of Yellowstone and beyond. The Wind River Valley surrounding Dubois contains numerous remnants of these people who lived in the area for many hundreds of years before they were relocated into a nearby reservation. Relics of their existence in the mountains and valleys around Dubois include numerous prehistoric petroglyphs, hunting traps and blinds, and stone tepee circles.
The first Europeans to enter the area were trappers Francois and Louis Verendrye in 1742–43.
In the years to follow, the Wind River valley was visited regularly by the Astorians and other fur trappers and hunters through the early 19th century. The mountain man Jim Bridger
, visited the area en route to Yellowstone in 1807 and 1880, named nearby Union Pass and Union Peak. The first homesteaders arrived in the late 1870s.
Butch Cassidy
(Robert LeRoy Parker) owned and managed a ranch on the outskirts of Dubois, beginning in 1890. It is said that he was a frequent customer at Welty's General Store in Dubois, which is still in operation. A statue recently erected in the center of Dubois is modeled after Butch Cassidy.
In 1913, the town expanded with the addition of a hotel, a bar, and a general store, anticipating the arrival of Scandinavian lumber workers brought there by the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company the following year. (All of these structures are still standing.)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church was founded in 1910 by Reverend John Roberts, an Episcopal missionary who served the Native American tribes on the Wind River.
Charles Moore built the first of many dude ranches in the area, Ramshorn Ranch and Camp Yellowstone, at the mouth of the DuNoir Creek west of Dubois in 1907.
In the landscape surrounding Dubois are visible the remains of many wood flumes constructed by the tie hacks
who provided the railroad ties that helped to develop the American West. These Scandinavian immigrants cut logs into ties and sent these via the flumes to the Wind River where they floated to Riverton, about 70 miles east, for processing.
A significant proportion of Dubois residents are writers, artists, photographers, musicians and songwriters, drawn to the remote town in part by its relatively moderate climate and remarkable scenery. Annual cultural events include a national art show and a quilt show, a winterfest including dogsled races and ski-joring, and a workshop for aspiring songwriters led by country music artist Skip Ewing
. During summer months, a square dance and a rodeo including local and regional competitors take place every week.
of 2000, there were 962 people, 451 households, and 274 families residing in the town. The population density
was 370.3 people per square mile (142.9/km²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 214.0 per square mile (82.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.15% White, 0.10% African American, 1.25% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.31% from other races
, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 451 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,194, and the median income for a family was $33,409. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,719 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $15,657. About 9.9% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
. The district has two campuses – Dubois Elementary/Middle School (grades K-8) and Dubois High School (grades 9-12).
BSk) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.
.
The body of Marine
PFC
Chance Phelps
was taken to his parents' home in Dubois after his death in Iraq in 2004. The story is featured in the HBO film Taking Chance
.
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The population was 962 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, although it nearly doubles in the summer with many part-time residents.
Geography
Dubois is located at 43°32′9"N 109°38′9"W (43.535936, -109.635915) and an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 2115 m (6940 ft). The Wind River
Wind River (Wyoming)
The Wind River is the name applied to the upper reaches of the Bighorn River in Wyoming in the United States. The Wind River is long. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn.-Course:...
runs through the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²), of which, 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) of it is land and 0.38% is water.
History
Dubois, Wyoming was originally known as Never Sweat due to its warm and dry winds. However, the postal service found the name Never Sweat unacceptable so Dubois was accepted, named after Fred Dubois, an Idaho senator at the time. In protest, the citizens of Dubois rejected the French pronunciation, instead opting for Du, with u as in "Sue"; bois, with oi as in "voice". The accent is on the first syllable.The first occupants of the mountains and valleys surrounding what is now Dubois were members of the Sheepeaters, a group of Mountain Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
, who included the Wind River area in their regular annual migrations from the Great Plains through the mountains of Yellowstone and beyond. The Wind River Valley surrounding Dubois contains numerous remnants of these people who lived in the area for many hundreds of years before they were relocated into a nearby reservation. Relics of their existence in the mountains and valleys around Dubois include numerous prehistoric petroglyphs, hunting traps and blinds, and stone tepee circles.
The first Europeans to enter the area were trappers Francois and Louis Verendrye in 1742–43.
In the years to follow, the Wind River valley was visited regularly by the Astorians and other fur trappers and hunters through the early 19th century. The mountain man Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
, visited the area en route to Yellowstone in 1807 and 1880, named nearby Union Pass and Union Peak. The first homesteaders arrived in the late 1870s.
Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
(Robert LeRoy Parker) owned and managed a ranch on the outskirts of Dubois, beginning in 1890. It is said that he was a frequent customer at Welty's General Store in Dubois, which is still in operation. A statue recently erected in the center of Dubois is modeled after Butch Cassidy.
In 1913, the town expanded with the addition of a hotel, a bar, and a general store, anticipating the arrival of Scandinavian lumber workers brought there by the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company the following year. (All of these structures are still standing.)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church was founded in 1910 by Reverend John Roberts, an Episcopal missionary who served the Native American tribes on the Wind River.
Charles Moore built the first of many dude ranches in the area, Ramshorn Ranch and Camp Yellowstone, at the mouth of the DuNoir Creek west of Dubois in 1907.
In the landscape surrounding Dubois are visible the remains of many wood flumes constructed by the tie hacks
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
who provided the railroad ties that helped to develop the American West. These Scandinavian immigrants cut logs into ties and sent these via the flumes to the Wind River where they floated to Riverton, about 70 miles east, for processing.
A significant proportion of Dubois residents are writers, artists, photographers, musicians and songwriters, drawn to the remote town in part by its relatively moderate climate and remarkable scenery. Annual cultural events include a national art show and a quilt show, a winterfest including dogsled races and ski-joring, and a workshop for aspiring songwriters led by country music artist Skip Ewing
Skip Ewing
Donald Ralph "Skip" Ewing is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1988, Ewing has recorded nine studio albums, and has charted fifteen singles on the Billboard country charts.-Career:...
. During summer months, a square dance and a rodeo including local and regional competitors take place every week.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 962 people, 451 households, and 274 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 370.3 people per square mile (142.9/km²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 214.0 per square mile (82.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.15% White, 0.10% African American, 1.25% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.31% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 451 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,194, and the median income for a family was $33,409. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,719 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $15,657. About 9.9% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education in the town of Dubois is provided by Fremont County School District #2Fremont County School District Number 2
Fremont County School District #2 is a public school district based in Dubois, Wyoming, United States.-Geography:Fremont County School District #2 serves the far northwestern portion of Fremont County...
. The district has two campuses – Dubois Elementary/Middle School (grades K-8) and Dubois High School (grades 9-12).
Climate
Dubois experiences a semi-arid climate (KöppenKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
BSk) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.
Cultural references
The geology of the area surrounding Dubois is unique in the world for featuring (almost in the same view) examples of all three major mountain-building forces: tectonic, volcanic, and glacial. This is described in detail in the nonfiction book Rising from the Plains by science writer John McPheeJohn McPhee
John Angus McPhee is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, widely considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction....
.
The body of Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
PFC
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
Chance Phelps
Chance Phelps
Chance Russell Phelps was a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps who served with 2nd Platoon, Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.Phelps was killed in Iraq as the convoy he was...
was taken to his parents' home in Dubois after his death in Iraq in 2004. The story is featured in the HBO film Taking Chance
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 historical drama film based upon the experiences of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl , who escorts the body of a fallen Marine, PFC Chance Phelps , back to his hometown from the Iraq War....
.
Notable natives
- Matthew FoxMatthew Fox (actor)Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
, (b 1966), actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
most known for his work in the ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
dramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. - Chance PhelpsChance PhelpsChance Russell Phelps was a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps who served with 2nd Platoon, Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.Phelps was killed in Iraq as the convoy he was...
(1984-2004), US MarineUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
killed in Iraq, subject of the film Taking ChanceTaking ChanceTaking Chance is a 2009 historical drama film based upon the experiences of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl , who escorts the body of a fallen Marine, PFC Chance Phelps , back to his hometown from the Iraq War....
.
Current/Former Residents
- Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
- Gale W. McGeeGale W. McGeeGale William McGee was a United States Senator of the Democratic Party, and United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States...
- Jeffrey I. Sussman, President of Dreyfus Property Group
- Gerry SpenceGerry SpenceGerry Spence is a trial lawyer in the United States. In 2008, he announced he would retire, at age 79, at the end of the Geoffrey Fieger trial in Detroit, MI. Spence states that he "has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney...
Trial Lawyers College at Thunderhead Ranch - Laton McCartney, Best-Selling Author of Friends In High Places, The Bechtel Story : The Most Secret Corporation and How It Engineered the World and The Teapot Dome Scandal How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country
- Robin Wiltshire, trainer of the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales for Super Bowl commercials
- Winifred Gallagher, author