The name "Medicine Bow" is legendary and was derived from the Indian tribes that frequented the area. Along the banks of the river the Indians found excellent material for making their bows and arrows. To the Indians, anything that they found good for a purpose was called, "good medicine." Thus, the river was called the Medicine Bow River, and as it originated in the mountains to the South, the mountains are called the Medicine Bow Mountains.

When the Union Pacific Railroad was being built, a pumping station was established on the river, and as this was also a supply point, a village sprung up which was given the name of "The Town of Medicine Bow." In the 1870's the Federal Government operated a commissary, and a post office was built. In 1876 an elementary school was established.

In 1885, author Owen Wister was heading West to the rugged Wyoming frontier, feeling that the altitude and climate would benefit his health. He was 25 years old, and everything he experienced in

this exciting new country made a permanent impression on his life. For the next fifteen years he kept a full and realistic account of his western expeditions in a series of private diaries. He met and wrote of cattle thieves, ranchers, cowboys, saloon keepers, and Indians. These accounts provided much of the source material for his western classic, "The Virginian." The Virginian was the first cowboy hero to capture the heart of the entire nation and shaped the romantic conception of the cowboy and put, "When you call me that, smile" into the American language.

In 1909 August Grimm built a concrete block, three story hotel and named it "The Virginian" in honor of Owen Wister. It had the first electric lights and sewer system in town. Modern in every way, the Virginian Hotel is still a major business in Medicine Bow.