by Mary Kelley (Author), The Campbell County Rockpile Museum (Contribution by)

Wyoming was one of the last states to be inhabited by non-native settlers. Campbell County, located in northeastern Wyoming, lacks a major body of water and so was not a primary destination for those who had headed west. The first settlements came after the early Homestead Acts, when the federal government gave out free land claims to encourage homesteaders. Another local rush occurred in the 1970s, when dozens of commercial coal mines opened and began hiring workers.