Welcome to Downtown Torrington, Wyoming

History

These edited excerpts are taken from "WIND PUDDING and RABBIT TRACKS VOL. 1" with permission from the Homesteaders Museum.

Town of Torrington

The Town of Torrington is the first station in Wyoming on the Bridgeport and Guernsey branch of the C.B. & Q railroad, and is located on the north bank of the North Platte River. The first post office was established in the year 1889 and was located on the homestead of W.G. Curtis, about one mile west of the present town site. Mr. Curtis was the one person largely responsible for the "getting'' and establishing this post office, and he is the person who gave it its name ... Torrington ... after the town in Connecticut, where he and his family formerly lived. W.G. was the first postmaster, serving in that capacity for several years before John Cameron, who moved the office to his place, succeeded him. 

In May of 1900, the Guernsey branch of the Burlington was built to this site location and a station established with George King serving as station agent. At that time there was no store or business ''district" here. People in the valley were accustomed to drive (by horse and wagon or any other conveyance) to Gering to do their “necessities" trading. In the south part of the county they traveled either to Cheyenne or Chugwater to trade and buy their necessities.

At this time there was already here a hardy group of pioneers tilling the soil and testing its productiveness. It wasn't long before the word went out to folks in the east that this fertile land was the place to sink roots and grow. So the emigration to this part of Wyoming began and development of Torrington was under way. It was no longer a post office and railroad station in the wilderness, but a thriving community offering goods and services to those arriving from points east to make their home on the prairie.

Rickety Dick Putney, a son of Mrs. G.W. Powell, established the first store in Torrington soon after the railroad was built into the area. Another pioneer was G.H. Sawyer who came in 1901 and opened a general merchandise store. The little store was just being finished, so Mr. Sawyer leased it and opened his business. While the country was very sparsely settled he built up a large and faithful trade, drawing from a distance of thirty miles.

At this same time J.T. Snow and H.S. Clark, Jr established the first bank. It was to be called the Snow and Clark Bank. In November of that year the bank was changed to a state institution under the name of Torrington State Bank. About a dozen of the influential citizens of Torrington and vicinity owned stock in the new bank. The officers and directors of the bank were: H.S. Clarke, Jr., President‑ Ed. H. Reid, Vice President­ J.T. McDonald, Cashier. Snow Hall was also built at this time and was used for school, church, town meetings, dances, and other community gatherings.

From small beginnings the town began to grow and businesses popped up on every corner and filled in up and down the dirt Main Street. The town had a look thusly:


The ''Red Cross" Pharmacy was established in Torrington in January,1906 by W.S. Miller and Dr. E.S. Empey. The pharmacy was sold the next year to H.W. Yoder, who renamed it, ''Palace Pharmacy." In addition to pure, fresh drugs, this firm also carried a full line of proprietary remedies and druggists' sundries and a fine line of choice cigars. The store also boasted a handsome marble soda fountain.

The best hotel in the North Platte Valley was the "Hotel Torrington." It was located in a two‑story cement building with convenient and well arranged rooms. E.A. Belingar was the proprietor, giving experienced competent and careful attention to his "valued" guests.

The establishment of the Torrington Telegram on 10th  of October in 1907 did a lot in letting people know and publishing the benefits and opportunities in store for the persons who would move to this area. The first page of this paper featured such an article on the "selling Torrington,'' October 17, 1907.

Before & After Photos