Gebo Project in the works

It was 1907 and two towns just north of us were booming with coal.

Gebo and Kirby boasted everything from boarding houses to grocery stores, baseball teams, schools and even city bands as the coal industry took hold and tons of the black fuel was pulled from the shafts dug on their outskirts.

Of course, there was Crosby, too, which had become a town itself in 1890, providing the initial coal to get the other towns going. Needless to say, there were friendly rivalries between the three towns and plenty of things to do in all three.

The Hot Springs County Museum is currently working on what they have named the Gebo Project, although it really encompasses all three of the towns.

The Gebo Project is an ongoing project to document the history of the area in stories and photos before that history is lost.

The museum is looking for photos from all three towns that they can scan as well as any artifacts from the area that they can photograph to have in their archives.

As they’ve been going through boxes in their archives they’ve been finding various trinkets left over from that era and would like to add more.

Families are encouraged to bring their photos or items to the museum where they will be scanned or photographed. You will receive a digitized copy of what you bring in. They are also encouraging folks to write down their family stories, which will be copied as well.

This project is made possible through a grant received from Wyoming Archives, specifically for digitizing this information.

If you have any questions regarding the project, please feel free to call the museum at 864-5183. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.