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American Heritage Center title. Centennial complex, arena auditorium and football stadium

American Heritage Center

March Featured Collection

Airplane roounding up wild horses in the desert between tall cliffsrodeo horse rinder getting thrown to the ground with horse leaping over the riderBud Gillespie showing off a 10 foot round lasso techniqueNative Americans at the 1905 Cheyenne Frontiers DayCarle Beasly being throw from ropdeo hirse Midnight Group os Swan cattle company cowboys posing as a group in a horse corral

Andrew Springs Gillespie Papers

A. S. “Bud” Gillespie was an Albany County, Wyoming, rancher and co-author with R. H. Burns and Willing G. Richardson of the book Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches. Gillespie was born in 1887. Bud Gillespie worked as a cowboy for the Swan Land and Cattle Company and gained fame as a rodeo performer during the early 1900s. He took over operation of the Gillespie ranch on the Laramie River in 1914 and bought the former Taylor ranch on Rock Creek in 1922. After his retirement he moved to Laramie, Wyoming, and became an authority and writer on the history of Albany County. The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, an oral interview on tape, artifacts, and photographs documenting ranch, rodeo, and cowboy life in southern Wyoming, primarily from the early 1900s.

 

Past featured collections:

About Us

More than 100 years ago, Grace Raymond Hebard—UW faculty member, administrator, librarian, and Wyoming historian—began collecting the papers and reminiscences of Wyoming’s pioneers. Her research on the history of Wyoming, the West, emigrant trails, and Native Americans became the nucleus for what is known today as the American Heritage Center (AHC). Officially established in 1945, the Center now holds over 90,000 cubic feet of historic documents and artifacts in more than 3500 collections—placing the AHC among the largest non-governmental archives in the nation.

Today, the AHC contains important holdings in numerous areas. Its western history archives include materials on early women’s suffrage and political achievements, native Americans, ranching, politics, authors, and under-documented communities. Other featured collecting areas include transportation (railroad, highway and air travel), mining and energy extraction, entertainment and popular culture (with important collections featuring Hollywood, music, radio, television and the comic book industry), natural resources and the environment, and military history. The AHC also serves as the primary archives for the University of Wyoming. Connect with us on our social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Virmuze, and our blog - where we are #ALWAYS ARCHIVING.  

 

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boxes of archival collections at the American Heritage Center

Visitor Information

Contact Us

Phone: (307) 766-3756
Fax: (307) 766-5511
Email: ahcref@uwyo.edu
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Hours of Operation

Most University of Wyoming business and administrative offices will be closed Friday, Dec. 23-Monday, Jan. 2, for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays as well as winter closure.

Public Display Areas
  • Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Reference Services & Reading Room
  • Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  • To make an appointment, please visit our How to Visit Guide

 

Parking

Parking in the Centennial Complex lot is free but patrons must register (M-F 8 am-5 pm) at the AHC front desk. Special parking regulations are in effect during game days, please call in advance for more information.

AHC News

The latest news and press releases from the American Heritage Center.

 

Street Address

Centennial Complex
2111 Willet Drive
Laramie, WY 82071 

Mailing Address

For US Postal Service:
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY 82071

For UPS & FedEx:
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
16th & Gibbon Street
Laramie, WY 82071
Attn: Bill Hopkins

1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071
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