Rock Springs, Wyoming

History

Rock Springs derives its name from a rock spring which flowed in the Number 6 district in the northern part of town. An account said that the spring was found by a lost Pony Express rider, but the spring station was known to Jim Bridger before 1860; the Overland Stage station was located nearby. The spring disappeared when the coal mine operations interrupted the underground flow.

In the early days, Ed Cleg hauled domestic water from the sulfur spring north of Rock Springs and charged $.25 a barrel. With the mining operations, the water flow was interrupted and water was hauled from Green River and Point of Rocks. Beginning in 1887, a water main was started from the Green River and completed in 1888 to bring a continuous supply of water to Rock Springs.

Rock Springs has a multi-ethnic heritage; locals called it the 57 Variety Town. The first immigrants were brought in by the railroad and coal mining companies. The Welsh and British people were initially most populous. Later, Irish, Black people, and refugees from the Southern part of the United States also came. The Scandinavian people were represented with a heavy Mormon recruitment.

One of the worst incidents of anti-immigrant violence in American history, known as the Rock Springs massacre, occurred on September 2, 1885, when White miners slaughtered their Chinese counterparts due to anti-Chinese sentiment. There are still remains of the old coal mining towns outside of Rock Springs.

On June 10, 1892, Rock Springs National Bank opened on 515 S Main St, across from the Union Pacific depot. The original sandstone building was designed by Mayor H.H. Edgar who chose an Italianate style. In 1907, when John Hay Sr. assumed control of the business, the location moved to C Street. RSNB owned the original building until 1921 when it was sold to Anton Mengoni. Hay Sr. navigated the bank through the Great Depression and World War II, before retiring in 1947. John Hay Jr., his son, then took control of the bank, having to control wild growth during Wyoming's massive energy boom in the 1970s. Another of Hay Sr.'s sons was Archibald (Archie) Hay. Archibald was killed in France by a German plane in 1918. In his memory, Post 24 of the American Legion, chartered in 1919, was named Archie Hay Post.

Rock Springs was featured on 60 Minutes in 1977 due to corruption within the Police Department and City Government. A grand jury was called into session. The Sheriff of Sweetwater County, James Stark, testified and no wrongdoing was ever found. A follow-up was filmed 20 years later for the show City Confidential. The episode was named "Rock Springs: Deadly Draw in the Wild West".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.34 sqmi, all land.

Climate

Rock Springs has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold, snowy winters and warm summers. Precipitation is usually light but has two peaks in mid spring and in early fall. Summer and winter are both drier.

The average December temperatures are a maximum of 33.2 F and a minimum of 12.4 F. The average July temperatures are a maximum of 86.3 F and a minimum of 52.5 F. There an average of 14.7 days annually with highs of 90 F or higher. There are an average of 183.6 nights with lows of 32 F or lower and 11.5 nights with lows of 0 F or lower. The record high temperature was 98 F on July 13, 2002, and the record low temperature was −37 F on January 12, 1963.

The average annual precipitation is 10.45 in. There is an average of 61.7 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest calendar year was 1965 with 14.54 in and the driest 2012 with 3.14 in. The most precipitation in one month was 3.67 in in September 1965, July 1973, and May 1995. The most snowfall in one year was 79.7 in in 1995. The most snowfall in one month was 23.7 in in February 2001.

|Jan record high F = 55 |Feb record high F = 60 |Mar record high F = 72 |Apr record high F = 79 |May record high F = 90 |Jun record high F = 96 |Jul record high F = 98 |Aug record high F = 96 |Sep record high F = 93 |Oct record high F = 83 |Nov record high F = 66 |Dec record high F = 59

|Jan avg record high F = 43.6 |Feb avg record high F = 47.1 |Mar avg record high F = 61.1 |Apr avg record high F = 71.2 |May avg record high F = 79.8 |Jun avg record high F = 87.9 |Jul avg record high F = 92.5 |Aug avg record high F = 90.5 |Sep avg record high F = 84.4 |Oct avg record high F = 73.9 |Nov avg record high F = 58.6 |Dec avg record high F = 45.9 |year avg record high F = 93.1

|Jan avg record low F = -7.9 |Feb avg record low F = -5.4 |Mar avg record low F = 7.3 |Apr avg record low F = 16.0 |May avg record low F = 25.5 |Jun avg record low F = 34.3 |Jul avg record low F = 45.5 |Aug avg record low F = 42.8 |Sep avg record low F = 29.6 |Oct avg record low F = 15.9 |Nov avg record low F = 2.7 |Dec avg record low F = -6.6 |year avg record low F = -14.3

|Jan record low F = -37 |Feb record low F = -29 |Mar record low F = -12 |Apr record low F = 2 |May record low F = 14 |Jun record low F = 26 |Jul record low F = 35 |Aug record low F = 33 |Sep record low F = 5 |Oct record low F = -10 |Nov record low F = -13 |Dec record low F = -29

|access-date = August 20, 2022 |access-date = August 20, 2022

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 23,036 people, 8,762 households and 5,849 families living in the city. The population density was 1191.1 PD/sqmi. There were 10,070 housing units at an average density of 520.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 86.4% White, 1.4% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.4% of the population.

There were 8,762 households, of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.2% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median age in the city was 31.5 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.1% male and 47.9% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 18,708 people, 7,348 households and 4,930 families living in the city. The population density was 1,014.4 per square mile (391.7/km2). There were 8,359 housing units at an average density of 453.3 per square mile (175.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.75% White, 1.07% African American, 0.86% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.05% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.96% of the population.

There were 7,348 households, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

27.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median household income was $42,584 and the median family income was $51,541. Males had a median income of $44,809 compared with $22,609 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,396. About 6.4% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Rock Springs hosts the International Festival, the Blues and Brews Festival, the Wyoming Chocolate Festival and the Rod and Rails Festival. In July, August, and September, the city holds a county fair called Wyoming's Big Show.

Rock Springs has two public libraries, Rock Springs Library and White Mountain Library, both of which are branches of the Sweetwater County Library System. The Rock Springs Library is also an original Carnegie Library, and has since been expanded to include an art gallery that is home to an original Norman Rockwell painting.

Education

Public education in the city of Rock Springs is provided by Sweetwater County School District #1. Schools serving the city include: Desert View Elementary, Northpark Elementary, Overland Elementary, Pilot Butte Elementary, Sage Elementary, Stagecoach Elementary, Walnut Elementary, Westridge Elementary, Eastside Elementary, Rock Springs Junior High School, and Rock Springs High School. There are also two alternative campuses – Black Butte High School, and Roosevelt Learning Center.

Western Wyoming Community College is a community college in Rock Springs.

Media

Hyperlocal websites

Rock Springs is served by two hyperlocal news websites, SweetwaterNOW.com and Wyo4news.com

Print

Rock Springs is served by two print publications: Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner and the Green River Star (a weekly newspaper published in Green River).

Radio

Rock Springs is served by a number of radio stations including KRKK, KSIT, KQSW, KMRZ-FM, KYCS, KZWB, KFRZ and KUGR.

Television

All television stations in Rock Springs are translators or satellites of stations located elsewhere:

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

• I-80
• US 30 (Dewar Drive)
• US 191
• WYO 370 (Baxter Road/Airport Road)
• WYO 376 (Circumferential Highway/Rock Springs Beltway)
• WYO 430 (Hampshire Street Parkway)

Airports

Rock Springs is served by Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport.

Public transportation

STAR Transit provides local bus service in Rock Springs, with limited service to Reliance and Green River.

Railroads

Union Pacific freight serves Rock Springs. Passenger service ended in 1997.

Notable people

• Adam Archuleta, football player
• Joseph M. Barbuto, politician
• Earl W. Bascom, rodeo champion, cowboy artist, Rodeo Hall of Fame cowboy, Hollywood actor, inventor
• Texas Rose Bascom, rodeo performer, trick roper, Hollywood actress, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee
• Paul Brothers, football player
• Ed Cantrell, Public Safety Director accused but acquitted of shooting an undercover officer from the Rock Springs Police Department
• Butch Cassidy, butcher and outlaw
• Bruce Collins, pro basketball player
• Edward Crippa, politician
• Mickey Daniels, actor
• Boyd Dowler, football player
• John Frullo, politician
• Paul Gosar, politician
• Pete Gosar, brother of Paul Gosar and politician
• Robert Holding, launched first of Grand America Hotels & Resorts
• Kathy Karpan, Wyoming Secretary of State and Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
• Joe Legerski, head coach of Wyoming Cowgirls basketball team
• Andrew Manatos, administrative assistant for US Senate liaison to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
• Florabel Muir, syndicated columnist, New York newspaper reporter and Hollywood screenwriter
• Todd Parr, author, illustrator, animator and television producer
• Teno Roncalio, politician
• Jack Snow, football player
• J.J. Syvrud, football player
• John Wendling, football player
• Spencer West, motivational speaker and disability advocate
• Kenilynn S. Zanetti, politician

References

References

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