BBCW Lunchtime Expedition: Hope and Hard Luck
Hope and Hard Luck: The History of Mining Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains
By Brian Beauvais
November 4, 2021
Noon
Join us for our November Lunchtime Expedition, Hope and Hard Luck: The History of Mining Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains by Brian Beauvais, Curator of the Park County Archives in Cody, Wyoming. The in-person talk takes place in the Center’s Coe Auditorium, with a virtual option available.
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Webinar ID: 841 4726 6948 / Passcode: 560762
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About the program
Brian Beauvais traces the history of prospecting and mineral development in Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains. Since the California Gold Rush of 1848 the prospect of finding gold, silver, and other precious metals fueled western expansion into distant regions of the Rocky Mountains. By the 1870s a few rugged prospectors had made their way into the Absaroka Mountains to prospect for hidden riches in the rocky recesses of the high peaks. These miners were able to locate a few regions of potentially valuable minerals. They proceeded staking claims and hoping for the eventual fulfillment of their good fortunes. But as a consequence of unstable metal prices and the extreme remoteness of northwest Wyoming, the anticipated mining boom in the Absarokas never materialized, leaving the mountains east of Yellowstone largely undeveloped long after adjacent sections of the Rocky Mountains had been augmented to facilitate resource extraction.
About the speaker
Beauvais is the Curator of the Park County Archives in Cody, Wyoming. He has a Master of Arts in history and is currently working toward a MLS degree. He is a member of the Park County Historic Preservation Commission and the Park County Historical Society. In addition to his archival research interests, Beauvais also loves exploring the historical geography of Park County to better understand and recount the unfrequented stories that endure throughout our local landscape.
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