Lost Coal District of Gebo, Crosby and Kirby

by Ms. Lea Schoenewald

Forging America's Fuel Henry Cottle registered the first mining claim in what would become northern Hot Springs County in the late 1880s. Henry Monro and Frank Porter's Cedar Mountain "Cowboy Mine" followed in 1898. In 1906, Burlington Railroad built its southbound line from Billings, Montana to Frannie and Worland, Wyoming. The route was, in no small part, because of the quality and quantity of coal near Kirby. With a rail contract for a twenty-mile extension, Mormon pioneer Jesse W. Crosby, Jr. filed his mining claim in 1910. Naturally, more entrepreneurs followed, including Samuel Gebo. The coal camps of Gebo and Crosby were born, forming a significant coal district that nurtured a true melting pot of nationalities. Author Lea Schoenewald recounts the area's heyday and the lives that powered its development.

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2024

Reviews

[Edie Hanafin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for readers who are interested in Wyoming history, precisely the early coal towns of Hot Springs County. The author deftly captures the lives of residents and these communities with an incredible amount of research including interviews with people who either lived there or had relatives who did. This book is a definite keeper for anyone's library because it chronicles the role of immigrants who enriched lives with their various ethnicities. Even after the mines closed, many of the workers and families remained and positively influenced the area and its economy. Schoenewald incorporates interesting information about the operation of the mines thus casting light on an era when coal was king. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone curious about the role of coal mining in Wyoming.