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Medicine Bow Origin and History
General History of Medicine Bow
The name
"Medicine Bow" is legendary and reputedly derives its origin
from the Native American tribes that frequented the area,
mainly the Arapaho and Cheyenne. Along the banks of
the river, the Native Americans found excellent material for
making their bows. To them, anything they
found good for a purpose was called "good
medicine." Thus, the Native Americans named the river
flowing through the area the Medicine Bow River,
and since the headwaters of the river originated in
the mountains to the South, they were called the
"Medicine Bow Mountains".
The area
was first used by trappers and mountain men during
the 1830's. In 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad was
built through the area, and a pumping station was
established on the river. A store and saloon were
the beginning of the small village, which naturally
was given the name "Medicine Bow." By the following
year, Medicine Bow had become a major supply point
and in the 1870's, the federal government operated
a military post in Medicine Bow to protect the
railroad an freight wagons from attack. A
post office was built and in 1876, the first
elementary school was
established.
By the
late 1870's and early 1880's, Medicine Bow had
become the largest shipping point
for
range livestock on the Union Pacific line. Cattle
were being brought for shipping from as far away as
Idaho and Montana. An average of 2,000 head a day
were being shipped. By the turn of the century,
Medicine Bow was also a major shipping point for
wool, averaging 1,000 tons a
year.
In 1901,
the U.P. Railroad was relocated from the Rock Creek
route to its present location, and a depot was
built in Medicine Bow. The original depot burned
down July 24, 1913, and the present depot was
erected in November, 1913.
In 1909,
Medicine Bow was incorporated when the U.P.
Railroad transferred ownership to the
town.
In late
1913, the transcontinental "Lincoln Highway" passed
right through Medicine Bow. In the 1930's it was
paved, bringing tourism to the
area.
In later
years, Lumber, Uranium, Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas
were found in the area which added to the
prosperity of the region.
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