Grass Creek, Wyoming: An Oasis in the Desert Armed with rifles, and wearing masks,
three men, self-proclaimed vigilantes, “compelled” a large number of claim jumpers to evacuate the camps they had established illegally. It was 1917 and a new era of outlaws had taken over the Wild West. Oil had been discovered and men flocked to the remote outposts of Wyoming in search of the black gold. Businessmen, such as Martin McGrath, a founding father of Thermopolis, and former outlaws like Elzy Lay of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang, joined in the hunt for the liquid treasure. Aspiring oil men partnered up with others to jump claims and grab up any potential land. Imprecise surveys helped to create chaos as claims overlapped. Competing parties spied on each other, climbing ridges and watching through binoculars. Once a claim had been staked, rivals would sneak out under the cover of darkness and move the stakes. They would then erect buildings to legitimize their claim jumping.
By 1908, a successful oil well had been drilled in Grass Creek and more were soon to follow. Families began moving into the oil camp, building close knit communities with schools and churches mingling with the saloons and pool halls. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 put an end to claim jumping and civility moved in. Wives formed Community Circles and children entertained themselves in the rocky hills and among the oil fields. Elizabeth McCrady Nuhn’s father moved to Grass Creek in 1919, arriving at the new frontier in an overland stage. “He said that the terrain was HotSpringsWyoming.com
the driest that he had ever seen, and it was covered with sagebrush,” Elizabeth said. “It looked terribly bleak, and he promised himself that he would only stay one year and then he would return to the East.” However, George McCrady discovered the beauty in the wild terrain. He remained in Grass Creek and retired as Superintendent of the Ohio Oil company in 1948. To Elizabeth, the bleak landscape was her oasis in the desert, “I loved the sunsets, the mountains, but most of all I loved the people who lived there. They were warm, kind, honest, hard-working, funloving people.” “One nice thing about Grass Creek,” Elizabeth added, “we were close to a lot of beautiful picnic areas. On Sundays we would put our goodies together and four or five families would go on a picnic.”
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Picnics continued to be a popular summer time event and the Ohio Oil Company helped build a special picnic area for their employees. The camp bordered the Shoshone National Forest and was a place full of games and laughter. By the early 1960’s, the Grass Creek Community was dissolved as a company town and the residents moved into the neighboring towns of Thermopolis, Meeteetse and Cody. Their picnic area was handed over to the 4H council and a camp was established for the youth of Thermopolis and Worland. Today, this camp is operated as the H Diamond W Youth Camp and is available for reservations through the University of Wyoming Extension Office. You can come for the day or stay the night; either in your own camper or rent one of the cabins. “The camp is a special place,” says Becky Davis whose daughter was married at the camp for her remote destination wedding. “We want to preserve it for future generations.”
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