County Seats | TimManBlog

Archive for the category “County Seats”

26 Sep 2021

Sheridan, Wyoming: Retirees Home on the Range

September 26, 2021
(photos and memories from August 1997 and September 2010)

Main Street Sheridan, Wyoming, looks just like the Old West town that it is.

Sheridan, Wyoming seems perfectly happy with its current size and situation. This north-central Wyoming town of 17,000 lies at the eastern edge of the Big Horn Mountains. Runoff streams provide ample water for nearby tree-lined pastures.

Sheridan has both a hometown feel and a retirement feel, and the combination complements both groups. Main Street would not be five blocks of bustling shops without the workers from the surrounding farms and ranches.

The Mint Bar, a cowboy bar. Main Street Sheridan, Wyoming

Dan’s Wyoming western wear and workwear. Sheridan, Wyoming

Downtown pharmacy, formerly J.H. Conrad General Merchandise. Sheridan, Wyoming

Alternately, Main Street would not be five blocks of bustling shops without the retirees supporting the merchants. I came across retirees seated on Main Street benches who offered me advice on which buildings to photograph.

J.C. Penney’s building. Sheridan, Wyoming

The retirees also support the arts — the old WYO theatre has been converted into a playhouse to serve this demographic.

The WYO theatre. Main Street, Sheridan, Wyoming

Both retirees and tourists enjoy the local fishing opportunities.

Flyshop of the Big Horns. Sheridan, Wyoming

Named for Union Civil War General Philip Sheridan, the town was founded in the 1880s. Eventually, the railroad came through town and nearby coal deposits were mined to provide coal for the locomotives. By 1910 Sheridan was prosperous enough to build a 3-story, well-ornamented City Hall building.

Wyoming vies with other western and midwestern states as the most Republican state in the Union. Sheridan is a Republican town.

Sheridan is the county seat of Wyoming’s Sheridan County. A well-kept structure surrounded by massive cottonwood trees, the Sheridan County Courthouse anchors the south end of Main Street.

Sheridan County Courthouse. Sheridan, Wyoming

Sheridan County Courthouse with bronze cupola. Sheridan, Wyoming

To the old-timers, cottonwood shade trees denote permanence on the northern plains. Such permanence is the ultimate satisfaction — it seems to last forever, as veterans memorials are meant to.

Sheridan County Bicentennial Veterans Monument. Sheridan, Wyoming

Here’s a bonus photo: I copied this photo from the web page of The Mint Bar on Main Street in Sheridan.

Interior of the Mint Bar. Sheridan, Wyoming. (This photo was copied from the Mint Bar website.)

A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.

All photos were taken by the author on September 21, 2010, except for the final photo showing the interior of the Mint Bar which was copied from https://www.mintbarwyo.com/, the Mint Bar website.

I do this as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs.
Thanks,
Tim

Donations are NOT tax-deductible under U.S. law…but you knew that.

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Posted in County Seats, Travel Posts and tagged Fly Shop of the Bighorns, Mint Bar, Mint Bar Sheridan, Mint Bar Sheridan Wyoming, Sheridan, Sheridan County, Sheridan County Courthouse, Sheridan County Wyoming, Sheridan Wyoming, WYO Theatre | Leave a comment

31 Aug 2021

Neil Armstrong’s Hometown

August 31, 2021

This photo was taken at the edge of town — Wapakoneta, Ohio — on August 2nd, 2021. I arrived about an hour after sunrise. Wapakoneta, Ohio, has a population of about 9,000 persons. It’s the birthplace and hometown of the first man to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong.

Welcome to Wapakoneta, Ohio, Hometown of Neil Armstrong

Wapakoneta follows the common custom in small towns across America of posting photos of their servicemen and women, past and present, along downtown light poles. Armstrong’s service as a Navy flyer earned him a banner bearing his Navy photo. A banner for Astronaut Armstrong is nearby.

A street banner honoring Astronaut Neil Armstrong. Wapakoneta, Ohio

At the center of town, Armstrong is depicted in a statue waving to crowds as he rode in a convertible during the ticker-tape parade through the streets of Manhattan. The parade, of course, celebrated the return of the Apollo 11 space mission, the first instance of man landing on the Moon.

Statue of Neil Armstrong waving to the crowds. Downtown Wapakoneta, Ohio

Opened in 1972, the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta contains artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission and other contributions to the history of aeronautics and space flight. The museum is located at the edge of town and attracts over 40,000 visitors per year.

Armstrong Air & Space Museum. Wapakoneta, Ohio

Mockups of the Gemini Spacecraft (left) and Apollo Command Module (right). Armstrong Air & Space Museum

Neil Armstrong’s old flight logs and other artifacts from his boyhood in Wapakoneta

Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s actual backup spacesuit. Armstrong Air & Space Museum, Wapakoneta, Ohio

Moon Rock. Armstrong Air & Space Museum. Wapakoneta, Ohio

Wapakoneta is in many ways a typical Ohio-midwestern small town. In the late 17th Century the Shawnee tribe settled in this area after having been driven their lands further south by white settlers and the Catawba, Cherokee, and Chickasaw nations. The name “Wapakoneta” might be from the Shawnee language for “place of white bones,” but that’s not certain.

Classic buildings at the central intersection in Wapakoneta. Junction of Auglaize and Willipie Streets.

In 1748, three decades before the American Revolution, the French built a fort here called “Fort au Glaize” after the Auglaize River which runs nearby. The river flows northward, eventually joining the Maumee River to drain into Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio. “Auglaize” is French for “river of great clay.”

In the 21st Century, the City Bakery on Auglaize Street (shown) provides a good selection of donuts.

Classic buildings and storefronts, including the City Bakery. Auglaize Street, Wapakoneta, Ohio

Happily, the town theatre, known as the “Wapa,” is not politically correct about the image displayed on its sign.

The Wapa Theatre, 15 Willipie Street in Wapakoneta

As can be imagined, many photo opportunities exist for tourists to associate themselves with the town’s main hero. This one is on Auglaize Street in front of the Chamber of Commerce.

Astronaut photo opportunity. Auglaize Street, Wapakoneta, Ohio

Wapakoneta is also the seat of Auglaize County, Ohio. The Auglaize County Courthouse was built in 1894 and is still in use today. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Auglaize County Courthouse. Wapakoneta, Ohio

The courthouse’s statue of Lady Justice stood atop the building until 1953 when it was taken down due to deterioration. In 1994, to commemorate the courthouse’s centennial, the statue was restored and placed in the courthouse atrium, or Great Hall, on the main floor.

Statue of Lady Justice. Auglaize County Courthouse. Wapakoneta, Ohio

“America 1928.” Artwork inside the Auglaize County Courthouse. Wapakoneta, Ohio

Artist’s rendering of the French-built Fort au Glaize, or the Wapakoneta Trading Post, along the Auglaize River. Auglaize County Courthouse.

Finally, another statue of Neil Armstrong can be found in front of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, this one of him as a boy. The story goes that Neil begged his parents to buy him a 10-cent balsa-wood glider. They did, and then the dreaming started.

Statue of Neil Armstrong as a boy. Armstrong Air & Space Museum. Wapakoneta, Ohio

A list of all photo posts from the American County Seats series in TimManBlog can be found here.

All photos were taken by the author on August 2nd and August 3rd, 2021

I do this as a hobby and not for a living (yet) — but donations are happily accepted if you’d like to help defer my costs.
Thanks,
Tim

Donations are NOT tax-deductible under U.S. law…but you knew that.