Hoofprints of the Past Museum

Hoofprints of the Past Museum Our mission is to preserve, protect, and share the history of Kaycee and the American West.

The Hoofprints of the Past Museum was founded over 20 years ago by a group of local volunteers to preserve the unique cultural heritage of Kaycee and the surrounding countryside. That unique western history includes:
• The Bozeman Trail
• Early Settlement and Fort Reno
• Native Americans and the Dull Knife Battle
• The Johnson County Cattle War
• Famous Outlaws

The stories of these western events

are shared through displays at the museum, in an historic building in downtown Kaycee. Our collection includes artifacts from famous local individuals and events, as well as a large number of Native American arrowheads. And unlike many museums today, Hoofprints of the Past does not hide away its artifacts in storage, but shares them with the public through a number of old-time displays including a:
• School house
• Mercantile Store
• Post Office
• Blacksmith shop
• Sheepwagon
• Doctor’s buggy

The Museum also has held a number of events for the public that help share local history, such as:
• Tours
• Western Plays
• Musical Performances
• Historical Presentations and Book Signings

The museum has produced DVD’s of many of these events, which are for sale in our museum store. Our store also carries a large number of books on local history, western posters and art, cards, and t-shirts.

The museum just replaced the rotting wood shaker shingles on the porch with a metal shaker shingle that should last much...
09/01/2026

The museum just replaced the rotting wood shaker shingles on the porch with a metal shaker shingle that should last much longer. We would like to thank the Johnson County 1% Grant Board and the Hazel Patterson Wyoming Community Foundation for their funding of this project.

Cantonment Reno was built as a supply base for General Crook in 1876 during his campaign against the Indians after the B...
08/31/2026

Cantonment Reno was built as a supply base for General Crook in 1876 during his campaign against the Indians after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was built three miles upstream of Fort Reno, which had been abandoned in 1868. Using local cottonwood, 42 structures were built in a two month period! Captain Po***ck effectively directed this construction, as well as construction of Fort McKinney on Clear Creek later.
We will stop by the site of Cantonment Reno on our tour on September 12th. Contact the museum 307-738-2381 if you would like to register or visit us at https://hoofprintsofthepast.org/

What do these people have in common? They all visited the site of Fort Montero, built in 1834 and known as the Portugues...
08/28/2026

What do these people have in common? They all visited the site of Fort Montero, built in 1834 and known as the Portuguese Houses. Captain Raynolds, left, was commissioned by Congress to survey the area for the purpose of map making and reporting on the resources in 1859. He was guided by famous mountain man Jim Bridger (center). Bridger also guided a party (right) with Sir George Gore of Ireland in 1855, who also camped here during a lavish hunting expedition to the West. It was an ideal spot to camp or build a fort, being almost equidistant from other major forts at the time and along traditional East/West and North/South travel routes.
This is a fraction of the history and significance of this site, so we can't miss visiting this site on our Powder River Pioneers Tour on September 12th.

This is the J.J. Cash place on the North Fork of Powder River west of Kaycee in approximately 1900. It was originally h...
08/27/2026

This is the J.J. Cash place on the North Fork of Powder River west of Kaycee in approximately 1900. It was originally homesteaded by Peter Griffin in 1883, a bachelor with no known relatives who left the place to John Nolen. Nolen sold it to John J. Cash in 1899, and he hired his father-in-law, Winfield Taylor, to build the first shingled roof in the valley on the cabin. Taylor is likely the man in the photo. Cash eventually expanded his holdings, acquiring several adjacent homesteads. Today this ranch remains in the hands of the J.J. Cash descendants.
Thank you to Sue Myers for the photo and information.

Fort McKinney, located on Powder River east of Kaycee in 1876, was moved to Clear Creek in Buffalo in 1878. It was named...
08/24/2026

Fort McKinney, located on Powder River east of Kaycee in 1876, was moved to Clear Creek in Buffalo in 1878. It was named after 29-year-old Lt. John A. McKinney, who was killed at the Dull Knife Battle on November 25, 1876. He was the only officer killed that day, and his youth and bravery led to Fort Reno being renamed in his honor.
We will be stopping at the former Fort Reno site on our Powder River Pioneers tour on September 12th. We still have room on the tour, but register soon to reserve your space.

The TA Ranch is a historic ranch that we are thankful to be able to visit on our Johnson County War tour today. Original...
08/22/2026

The TA Ranch is a historic ranch that we are thankful to be able to visit on our Johnson County War tour today. Originally established and owned by Dr. Harris of Laramie as an absentee landlord and managed by Charlie Ford, in April 1892 it became the scene of a several days-long siege during the Johnson County War. The party of "Invaders" who had come to eliminate 70 of their enemies in Johnson County, was forced to take refuge at the ranch and fortify against a growing number of angry citizens. We appreciate the Madsen family for preserving the historic buildings and feeding our group an excellent lunch.
Photos: TA Ranch barn, inside of barn today looking at bullet holes and rifle holes, eating lunch in the modern TA events building.

Kids are back to school in Johnson County this week. One hundred years ago there were many schools in Johnson County. Sc...
08/20/2026

Kids are back to school in Johnson County this week. One hundred years ago there were many schools in Johnson County. Schools were established in the various rural communities as the need arose. A building was selected or built, and a teacher was hired to teach. Although these schools were more rustic than the school facilities used today, they seemed to deliver an excellent education.
Top photo: School at Willow Creek
Bottom Left photo: Sutton school L to R Dick Jarrard, Sunny Jarrard, Fred Lund, Roy Jarrard, ?, Mary Streeter, Dwayne Christensen, ?, Anna Koch, Dennis Elm, Bud Streeter and Elva Jean Jones, teacher
Bottom middle photo: Reno Hill school in the 1920's L to R Jimmy Ullery, Julia Campbell, Nina Campbell, Billy Rankins, and Billy Fraker
Bottom right photo: Sussex School 1909-1910 L to R Madge Davis, Dorothy Davis, Helen Meike, Lucille Beck, Henry Jones, Ethel Beck, Ralph Beck, Emil Meike (sitting on step) Harry Jones and Pete Meike (against building)

This is a motorized grindstone made by Red Fork rancher Johnnie Jones in about 1900. He built it by adapting a foot-powe...
08/17/2026

This is a motorized grindstone made by Red Fork rancher Johnnie Jones in about 1900. He built it by adapting a foot-powered grinder to run on a one-cylinder engine. All the U-joints on the drive shaft are forge built rather than manufactured. Tommy Carr, a friend and neighbor, carved the sandstone wheel out of local sandstone using a nail and a string, according to Art Carr. The grinder was donated to the museum by Brock Hanson.

Across Wyoming, dinosaur fossils have been excavated beginning in the late 19th century through today, including in the ...
08/14/2026

Across Wyoming, dinosaur fossils have been excavated beginning in the late 19th century through today, including in the Kaycee area. The dinosaur in this photo was excavated 12 miles west of Kaycee at the Red Fork Powder River Quarry on private land in approximately 1902 by Andrew Carnegie paleontologist William Utterback. It is a Diplodocus hayi measuring 72 feet long and 25 feet high and is known as "Dipsy" at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where it is on display. Today professional dinosaur hunters continue the work in this quarry as well as other locations around Kaycee.
Dinosaur photo courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science

For a short time circa 1918 and 1923 the John Galt Co. Grocery and Merchandise store operated on the east side of Nolan ...
08/12/2026

For a short time circa 1918 and 1923 the John Galt Co. Grocery and Merchandise store operated on the east side of Nolan Ave. (the main street) of Kaycee. The Kaycee city council held its meetings in the upper floor of the building.

Address

344 Nolan Avenue
Kaycee, WY
82639

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

(307) 738-2381

Website

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