About Kemmerer

  • JC Penney's Golden Rule Store1897 - Kemmerer founded by J.P. Quealy and Mahlon S. Kemmerer.
  • 1897 - Keenan's Opera House, the city's first frame building, is erected at the tip of the Triangle.
  • 1898 - The first edition of the Kemmerer Camera is published.
  • 1898 - Kemmerer's first telephone is installed.
  • 1898 - The Kemmerer Hotel is completed.
  • 1899 - Kemmerer is incorporated as a city.
  • 1899 - "Hose Company Number One" was recognized by the Town Council as the official fire department.
  • 1900 - The First National Bank opens.
  • 1902 - A girls' "Basket Ball Club" is organized; its modest blue flannel uniforms include bloomers.
  • 1902 - On April 14, 26-year-old James Cash Penney opens "The Golden Rule" in partnership with Thomas M. Callahan and William Guy Johnson. First-day sales total $466.59. It will grow quickly and later become the J.C. Penney company.
  • 1905 - The John Lindsay Dramatic Company presents two plays at the Smith Opera House.
  • 1907 - United Mine Workers of America organize Frontier Mines.
  • 1911 - Lincoln County is created, with Kemmerer as the county seat.
  • 1919 - The trial of Anna Byers Richey is held in Kemmerer. Richey was found guilty and sentenced to death, but her sentence was commuted. Three years later, she died of poisoning in one of Kemmerer's most notorious unsolved mysteries.
  • 1919 - Kemmerer residents celebrate the inauguration of Prohibition with a funeral for "John Barleycorn" in Triangle Park.
  • 1922 - The Kemmerer High School Band gives its first performance in Triangle Park.
  • 1922 - The first radio is installed by Frank Christmas and Bert Reddish.
  • 1923 - The Frontier Mine Disaster claims the lives of 99 workers.
  • 1929 - Kemmerer's baseball team defeats Pocatello 9-3.
  • 1930 - The Mormon church is built on the corner of Agate and Pine.
  • 1938 - As part of the WPA, Eugene Kingman paints murals in the Kemmerer Post Office.
  • 1941 - 856 of Kemmerer's 1,416 draft registrants have their physicals and are classified.
  • 1943 - The first train goes through Tunnel Hill Cut.
  • 1955 - Over 1,000 musicians converge on Kemmerer for the 11th Annual District Festival.
  • 1955 - Uranium boom: In May, 406 claims are filed in just 10 days.
  • 1955 - Television arrives in Kemmerer via the Kem-Tev Corporation.
  • 1956 - Northwest Energy Company creates the gas processing plant at Opal that eventually became the Northwest Pipeline Company.
  • 1967 - The infamous Southern Hotel closes.
  • 1969 - The FMC Coke Plant begins full production.
  • 1972 - The Fossil Butte National Monument is established.
  • 1990 - The Fossil Butte National Monument and Visitor's Center is dedicated.
  • 1997 - FMC Skull Point Mine is purchased by P & M Coal Company.
  • 1997 - Kemmerer celebrates its 100th anniversary.
  • Kemmerer Main Street
  • Around Town
  • Fossil Fest
  • Oyster Ridge

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The Kemmerer City Council is seeking individuals to serve on the Kemmerer Main Street Committee to assist them in revitalization of the downtown area.  In December of 2009 the City of Kemmerer was selected as an "Aspiring Community" by the Wyoming Main Street program.  This committee will focus on the development and implementation four areas that make the Main Street program successful.  Those areas are: Design, Organization, Economic Restructuring and Promotion.

The success of the program is dependent upon the citizens of the community participating in the revitalization of the down town.  You can participate by filling out the application and submitting it to the Kemmerer City Hall.

Click here to download the application.

Check out the Kemmerer/Diamonville Chamber of Commerce website for area attractions, local businesses, and a calendar of happenings around town. Click here for more: http://www.kemmererchamber.com/

The entire community celebrates Fossil Fest in early July each year!  Keep an eye on the Fossil Fest website http://www.fossilfest.org/ for more information as it becomes available.

Oyster Ridge Music Festival 2010 was a great success. Planning for 2011 is already under way! Plan to visit Kemmerer at the end of July! Check out the latest information at the Oyster Ridge's website: http://oysterridgemusicfestival.com/