Exhibits

Verna Keays had just returned home to Buffalo from art school when the Daughters of the American Revolution put out a call for designs for a state flag. When Verna’s entry was selected, she won $20 from the DAR and secured a priceless place in Wyoming’s history.

Come learn about the Wyoming state flag design and origins, the conservation work done to this 100+ year old flag, and the woman who designed it. We hope to see you here!

The Carnegie Library Building serves as the museum’s main entrance, museum store, and administrative offices. It is one of the 1,679 libraries philanthropist Andrew Carnegie built across the United States between 1886 and 1919.

On November 7, 1976, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

Safeguarding the museum’s collection of horse-drawn vehicles, the Carriage House was added to the property in 1998. The Carriage House is located on the south side of the original museum building.

Located in front of the museum is the Jenkins Family log cabin. The cabin was built in 1916 by Marshall D. Jenkins, just north of the town of Kaycee, Wyoming. When the Homestead Act of 1862 was passed, many families such as the Jenkins, packed their belongings and headed to Wyoming to create a new life for themselves.

Homesteading in Wyoming meant facing the challenges of heat, drought, hail, lightning, blizzards, isolation, lawlessness, and backbreaking labor. In 1925 Jenkins sold his homestead patents, including the cabin, and moved his family to Midwest, Wyoming. In 1982 Polly Jenkins purchased her childhood home and moved it to Story, Wyoming. The log cabin reached its final destination at the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in 2006 when the family donated the homestead cabin and its contents.

American Indian Tipi next to the Jenkins Family Homestead, is a reproduced American Indian tipi. The tipi is used by visitors for both recreational and educational purposes.

The Nate Champion statue, created by local Buffalo Artist D. Michael Thomas, was placed in 2009 by the museum’s entrance. Nathan D. Champion is famous for his last stand at the KC Ranch on April 9, 1892 during the Johnson County Cattle War. He was pitted against many well-armed assailants but single-handedly held them at bay before they set fire to the cabin where he was staying. He was shot down as soon as he emerged from the cabin. His defiant seven-hour stand gave the county residents time to halt the Invaders at the TA Ranch.