Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Little Bill, Wyoming (off I-25 from Douglas on WY-59 Byp.)

This location is referenced in Wyoming Curiosities.

It is a 2 and a half hour drive from Cheyenne. Take I-25 North to Douglas. At Douglas, take WY-59 north)

"Little Bill, Wyoming might have the only yacht club headquartered in a general store. And Bill's is probably also the only yacht club that is both hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean and in the middle of a sage-strewn, high-altitude desert."

According to this store, the town of Bill only has three residents! (It was apparently an oil town and when oil production stopped, most people moved away.

Here's the entry on Bill from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill,_Wyoming

Bill is an unincorporated community in Converse County, Wyoming, United States.

The settlement is rumored to have begun after World War I when a doctor moved there. It was called "Bill" by the doctor's wife due to a number of men in the area with that name.

In 1997, Bill consisted of a combined gas station and rural post office serving local ranches. It has since been redeveloped with a hotel and diner for Union Pacific Railroad employees who take mandatory rests in the town. The new development more than doubled the population to 11 people in two years. It has a population of 5 people for every square mile.

Bibliography
Wyoming Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Odidities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Dina Mishev.Insider's Guide. 2007.

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