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While our building may be closed to most researchers, the AHC is still open for business. Archivists are on-site and working to provide you with access to collection material. Check out the AHC Virtual Resource Hub or get in touch:
- 307-766-3756 (M-F 10am-3pm)
- Schedule a Zoom consultation by phone or email
The Estelle Ishigo photographs were gathered for use in her book Lone Heart Mountain and many of them were published there. The original drawings and sketches were created by Estelle Ishigo while she was interned with her Japanese-American husband at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp between Cody and Powell, Wyoming. Some were originally intended for use in the camp newspaper, the Heart Mountain Sentinel, and for an official project report for the U.S. government. She continued to sketch Japanese-American community life in their new home after the war in a trailer camp, still surrounded by barbed wire, in Lomita, California.
Past featured collections:
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. We are #ALWAYS ARCHIVING.
Upcoming Closures
Closures may happen unexpectedly due to the pandemic.
Contact the Reading Room for latest information.
The latest news and press releases for the American Heritage Center.
1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071
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