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Museums and History

Community Fine Arts Center in Sweetwater County

A culture gem in southwest Wyoming's high desert country, the Community Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs features a unique collaboration between the City of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County and the local School District #1. The Rock Springs High School's permanent collection totals over 500 original American paintings, prints, works on paper, photographs and three-dimensional works. Paintings by Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, Loren McGiver, Elliott Orr, Edward Chavez, Paul Horiuchi, Ilya Bolotowsky, Raphael Soyer, and Rufino Tamayo compose some of the permanent collection along with paintings by well-known Wyoming, regional, and local artists. The community Fine Arts Center features a changing exhibition schedule of local and regional painters, sculptors, printers, photographers, and artists. National traveling exhibitions are also calendared, offering traditional and non-traditional displays of contemporary art in America.

Rock Springs, WY
Phone: 307-362-6212

Museums in Sweetwater County

More information coming soon!

Rock Springs Historical Museum in Sweetwater County

Rock Springs was incorporated in 1888 and the town was proud of the fact that no Union Pacific Railroad money was used for the construction of the building. The building housed city offices and the city jail until 1982 when the current City Hall was completed.

Rock Springs came into existence largely thanks to the mining industry. At one time there were as many as ten mines located in the downtown area alone. At first, the labor force for the mines of Rock Springs consisted of miners from Kentucky and Pennsylvania, mainly since they had experience in underground mining operations. However, the workload soon exceeded the labor force and recruiters were sent to Europe to find more help. Promised a much better life, miners and their families immigrated to Rock Springs making it one of the most diverse ethnic melting pots west of the Mississippi. Today, Rock Springs proudly declares itself, “Home of 56 Nationalities.”

The town quickly became one of the nation’s leaders in coal production. However, this distinction did not come without a price. In 1888, after a long labor dispute, Chinese miners were killed or driven out and Chinatown was burned. As a result, Federal troops were sent in to occupy the town. Rock Springs became one of the few towns after the Civil War to have military troops stationed there in order to protect the immigrants from local citizens.

Rock Springs, WY
Phone: 307-362-3138

Sweetwater County Historical Museum

Discover the rich cultural heritage of southwestern Wyoming at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River. Established in 1967 to preserve and present the history of Sweetwater County, the museum is housed in a 1931 post office building. In this old building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a treasure trove of bygone days is laid out so visitors can experience what life was like for early settlers and Native Americans. Long-and-short-term exhibits, a large photograph collection and local history materials trace the story of Sweetwater County from 1820 to the present. The museum houses permanent and temporary exhibits portraying the lives of early settlers in the area. Depicting an even earlier era, the museum features an exhibit about dinosaurs. To accompany this prehistoric representation, the Bureau of Land Management has loaned a petroglyph from the White Mountain petroglyphs.

Green River, WY
Phone: 397-872-6435

WWCC Natural History Museum in Sweetwater County

Dinosaurs thundered across the open space of Wyoming tens of millions of years before human beings. They're long gone now, but you can see five life-size replicas of these hulking creatures at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. Although archaeologists have found fossils of these monsters all over Wyoming, the most prized specimens were taken to the big natural history museums in the east. You can also see interesting artifacts such as prehistoric pottery, smaller fossils, and items associated with the earliest known humans who lived in the vicinity. The WWCC Natural History Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Special tours can be arranged by calling 303.382.1666.

Rock Springs, WY
Phone: 307-382-1666