Nevin's Homestead
Archaeological and Historical Investigations at the Frank Nevin Homestead, Carbon County, Wyoming
Introduction
The Nevin Homestead was a small 160-acre ranch located in southcentral Carbon County some six miles southeast of Rawlins. The homestead was established by William Franklin (Frank) Nevin around 1890. It included a ranch house, barn, root cellar, irrigation ditches, vegetable gardens, stock ponds, and dams. The ranch began as a family run operation with work done by Nevin, his wife Mary, and their children. Nevin's children played an active and in one instance tragic role in the operation of the ranch. The homestead produced meat, dairy products, vegetables, and eggs. The ranch largely served the needs of the Nevin family with any surpluses sold to local markets including Rawlins, and the Platte River valley. The Nevin Homestead also functioned as a stage station along a wagon road leading from Rawlins to Saratoga, Grand Encampment, and the gold fields of the Medicine Bow Mountains. In 1899, Nevin sold the homestead and moved to another ranch near Saratoga. The Nevin Homestead was purchased by larger livestock operations, first the Rawlins Livestock Company and then the Kindt Sheep Company. People continued to live and work at the ranch from 1899 to the 1920s or 1930s, but it became just a part of larger operations. By the 1930s the homestead was largely abandoned.
The Nevin Homestead is not unique. There were hundreds perhaps thousands of small family run livestock operations across all of Wyoming in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most followed the path of the Nevin Homestead being absorbed into larger ranches and, after a few years, disappearing from history. The significance of the Nevin Homestead is the period in time when it was in use. The 1890s was a period of great change in stock-raising methods and practices in Wyoming. In the 1870s and 1880s, stock-raising was dominated by the Open Range or Texas Cattle-raising Tradition. This system has its origins in Spain and Mexico but saw its full development begin in east Texas and Louisiana in the early nineteenth century. It expanded across the Great Plains after the Civil War and was facilitated by developing railroad networks which were necessary to take cattle to markets, primarily Chicago. The Open Range system required large amounts of unclaimed public land on which cattle could be grazed for free with very little herd supervision other than fall and spring roundups. Start-up money was needed to purchase a herd which would graze for free on public land. Labor costs were low and real estate was readily available. The herds would increase in size naturally and profits could be used to buy more cattle leading to more profit. By the mid-1880s, the largest open range ranches had herds numbering in the thousands to tens of thousands of cattle. Capital from the East Coast and European investors poured into these proto-agribusinesses. The cattlemen who ran the largest operations through the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association became a powerful force in Wyoming Territorial politics.
The Open Range system ultimately failed because it was both environmentally and economically maladaptive. Large ranches often had only a vague idea of how many cattle were on the range and what effect the large herds had on the available grass. On the Northern Plains, Open Range ranching only worked when environmental conditions were favorable. When environmental conditions changed for the worse, the system could not adapt quickly enough to survive. Bad winters hit eastern Wyoming in 1886-1887 and western Wyoming in 1889-1890. Dry summers combined with early fall snow and ice storms and severe winter blizzards coated the prairies with snow and ice leaving little exposed grass for the cattle to eat and streams and rivers frozen over. Winter feed was not a characteristic of Open Range ranching and as a result winter herd mortality was high during the bad winters. Many of the larger Open Range ranches were economically weak in the late 1880s having accumulated debts from over-expansion. With herds depleted and debts to pay, many large ranches were forced to dump weakened cattle on the market following the bad winters leading to severe declines in beef prices which made debts harder to pay. Many of the largest Open Range ranches either failed or had to retrench. Something had to change.
With the collapse of the Open Range operations following the bad winters of the late 1880s the small to medium sized ranches which survived had to adapt to changing economic and ecological conditions. A new pattern of ranching labeled the Midwest Cattle Tradition replaced the Open Range Tradition across Wyoming. The Midwest Tradition had its origins in the British Isles and entered North America through Jamaica, South Carolina, and the Ohio River Valley. It entered the Great Plains after the Civil War but was initially overshadowed by the Open Range System. The Midwest System emphasized increased herd maintenance which included fenced hay meadows to provide winter feed, something the Texas Tradition largely ignored. The Midwest Cattle Tradition saw the introduction of British stock including Herefords, Angus, and Durham cattle which were bred together or with Texas Longhorns to produce a hardier, heavier strain of cattle. This began in the 1870s and 1880s but accelerated in the 1890s as longhorns vanished from Wyoming ranches. The number of cattle on the range had dropped dramatically during the 1890s while the number of ranches increased meaning that average herd size declined. Sheep became more prominent in the 1890s, augmenting or replacing cattle in many operations. At the same time, the number of farms and ranches climbed from 3125 to 6095, a nearly 100% increase. Small farms and ranches typically practiced subsistence agriculture. Meat, dairy, and farm produce from small ranches supplied the needs of the immediate family and any surpluses were sold at local markets. This was the situation when Frank Nevin and his family established their homestead in 1890.
The Nevin Homestead (48CR9097) is located six miles southeast of Rawlins in Carbon County, Wyoming. The site is located in the high desert of south-central Wyoming. The Nevin Homestead is situated on the margin of a wet meadow that is formed in a small basin in an intermittent stream valley. The stream is an unnamed west to east flowing tributary of the North Platte River.
A map of Wyoming in 1895
Rand, McNally Atlas of the World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1895). From collection of Michael Cassity.
William Franklin (Frank) Nevin was born in Louisville Kentucky in 1837. He attended the University of Virginia but his field of study is unknown. During the Civil War he fought for the Confederacy. Nevin's obituary indicated that he rode with John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate raider who led an unsuccessful invasion of Indiana and Ohio in 1863 which resulted in most of his troops being killed or captured. In 1905 Nevin attended the Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Denver which marked the 40th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. An unnamed Confederate who might have been Nevin marched along with Union veterans in the grand parade in his Confederate uniform.
After the end of the Civil War, Nevin moved west working as a carpenter. He arrived in Laramie in 1882 and Rawlins in 1884 where he originally operated a wagon repair shop.
Frank and his wife Mary had nine children, seven of whom were born before or during the occupation of the homestead. The children included William Francis (b.1883), David Bernard (b.1885), Isabel (b.1887), John Henry (b. 1889), Raymond Arthur (b. 1893), Florence A., (b. 1895), Bessie (b. 1898), Joseph Merlin (b. 1900), and Kathrin (b. 1907). All of the children except for Joseph Merlin and Kathrin lived at the homestead. Another Nevin child died in infancy.
Frank Nevin prison photo 1901
Wyoming State Archives digital photograph collection, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The Nevin Homestead was a small cattle-raising operation which included stock-raising, dairy, farming, and non-agricultural activities. Small cattle operations were common across Wyoming at the turn of the century but have rarely been studied historically or archaeologically. The historical focus has been primarily on large cattle ranches especially the Cattle Barons of the Open Range period of the 1870s and 1880s. Little work has been done on the small to medium sized ranches like Nevin's which formed the majority of livestock operations in Wyoming at the turn of the twentieth century.
Nevin Homestead overview
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Nevin established his homestead in 1890 or 1891. During his 10 years at the homestead Nevin ran a small cattle ranch. Some indication of the scale of Nevin’s cattle-raising operations can be seen in the description of a sheriff’s sale of Nevin’s assets in 1901 two years after Nevin moved to Saratoga from this homestead. Nevin’s assets included one bull, eight cows, four yearling heifers, four calves, one large Schuttler wagon, one spring toothed harrow, one hand seed drill, one mowing machine, one two-horse hay rake, and one saddle. This would suggest that the 17 cattle and calves sold at the sheriff’s sale constituted the entirety of Nevin’s herd at that time. No sheep were listed in 1901 although in 1895 Nevin purchased (stole?) nine sheep. The farm equipment showed that Nevin was also growing crops.
A photo of the ranch house at the Nevin Homestead.
The photo was provided by Robert Shirkey, a great grandson of Frank Nevin.
Bad winters in 1886-1887 in eastern Wyoming and 1889-1890 in western Wyoming ended Open Range ranching. The Open Range Cattle Tradition was replaced by the Midwest Cattle-raising Tradition, the basis for modern ranching practices. Nevin's homestead exhibited all the traits of the new Midwest Cattle-raising Tradition just three years after the bad winter of 1886-1887. Nevin was particularly interested in improving his stock for both beef and dairy products. He owned a Durham bull which he bred with his polled Angus heifers. The Midwest Tradition also emphased growing winter feed in fenced meadows, and the diversification of ranching products through the use of sheep, dairy cattle, vegetable gardens, and poultry to produce eggs. Nevin practiced all of these traits.
Cattle grazing near a small abandoned homestead in southern Sweetwater County.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
One aspect of ranching in Wyoming in the nineteenth century was that small ranchers were frequently accused of rustling cattle, particularly by the large ranchers. How often this really occurred was (and still is) hotly debated.
In the 10 years that Nevin lived at his homestead, he was accused theft of cattle or sheep four times. Nevin was convicted in 1891 of selling veal without exhibiting the hide. He paid a $25 fine. In 1895 Nevin was accused of stealing nine sheep. He was convicted but the conviction was later overturned. In 1897 he was accused of stealing and killing a cow and a separate calf. The case was eventually dismissed. Finally in 1899 he was accused of stealing and butchering a cow. The case went to trial in 1901 and Nevin was convicted and spent three years in the state penitentiary in Rawlins from 1901 to 1904.
To pay for his legal defense, Nevin took out a mortgage which he could not repay. His cattle and farm equipment were sold at a sheriff's sale in 1901 to cover the debt.
Modern cattle
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
At the same time that Nevin was involved in improving the quality of his beef cattle, he was also involved in developing a dairy herd. In 1895 Nevin’s two eldest sons William Francis (age 12) and David (age 10) died in an unexpectedly strong September blizzard while attempting to locate missing cows which were in need of milking. Nevin also had a vegetable garden where he grew turnups amongst other things. He raised ducks and chickens and sold the eggs and raised rabbits for sale as food.
After moving to Saratoga, Nevin attempted to start a dairy business with a dairy herd, milking and dairy processing equipment, and a market garden to grow produce for sale. This business was intended to sell dairy products and vegetables to the surrounding communities. His incarceration in the State Penitentiary from 1901-1904 brought an end to this endeavor.
After Nevin was released from prison in 1904 he abandoned ranching and went back to carpentry working in a hardware store and then owning a building company in Rawlins. Frank Nevin never returned to his homestead and died at age 75 in Hudson, Wyoming in 1913.
Meadow east of the Nevin Homestead
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
In addition to being a ranch the Nevin Homestead served as a stage station on a stagecoach and freight wagon road between Rawlins, Saratoga, Grand Encampment, and gold mines in the Medicine Bow Mountains. The Rawlins to Saratoga Road was first developed in the early 1880s following the opening of the Saratoga spa and hot springs.
The road saw renewed use in the early 1890s with the discovery of gold in the Gold Hill District in the Medicine Bow Mountains and in the late 1890s with the Grand Encampment copper boom. Nevin settled along this road in 1890 and was paid for making road improvements. The road was still in use as late as 1914.
Historic map of wagon roads in southern Carbon County
Rawlins Semi-Weekly Republican, Wednesday, March 23, 1898, Page 1, Columns 1-4, Rawlins, Wyoming. ( www.newspapers.wyo.gov ).
The Rawlins to Saratoga road leaves the valley in which the Nevin Homestead is located through a narrow steep-sided branch canyon. This may be the Big Hill which was one of the most difficult sections of the wagon road. In the winter of 1894, a stagecoach got stuck on the Big Hill when ice and snow on the trail forced the driver off the road and into a snowbank. The driver had to walk back to the Nevin Homestead for help. No one was home so the driver borrowed a shovel, walked back to the stage and with the help of the single passenger spent several hours digging themselves out before continuing on to Saratoga.
A modern photo of the Rawlins to Saratoga wagon road two miles southeast of the Nevin Homestead.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
In 1899, Nevin sold his homestead to the Rawlins Livestock Company which was amassing large land holdings in the area at the turn of the century. In 1902, the Rawlins Livestock Company sold the ranch to the Kindt Sheep Company another large stock-raising operation run by Fred Kindt and John Davis. Both Kindt and Davis maintained primary residences at other locations and neither lived at the Nevin homestead. Use of the homestead after 1899 would have been by employees of the large livestock companies. The Nevin Homestead in the early twentieth century was subsumed into these larger holdings and appears to have fallen into disuse by the 1930s.
A modern photo of the Nevin Homestead ranch house.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The standing portion of the building consists of one room of what was originally a multi-room stone and wood building. The combination of wood and stone shows that additions to the building were added through time as the family grew and the need for a larger house increased.
By the early twentieth century, the status of the ranch house changed. After Nevin sold the homestead in 1899 and moved his family to another ranch near Saratoga, the Nevin Homestead became a part of larger livestock operations. The house was no longer the primary residence for the owners. People continued to occupy the site into the 1920s or 1930s and some company employees may have lived in the house but it was not the focus for family life that it had been in the 1890s.
A modern photo of the Nevin Homestead ranch house.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The historical record provides significant data on activities practiced at the Nevin Homestead in the 1890s. Archaeological excavations provide even further data for the site. The Nevin Homestead consists of multiple features including one standing building, the ranch house, a barn, a root cellar, and ditches and stock dams. Only one section of the stone ranch house is still standing. The ranch house is located approximately 150 meters north of the barn and was originally a larger and more complex building than what is currently present.
The Nevin Homestead barn
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
It is not known when the Nevin Homestead barn was first built, but a newspaper article indicates that it was in place by 1895. The remains of two buildings built one atop the other were noted. The first building is referred to as Structure 1. No structural remains of the first building are present. It was likely a log building which lacked a substantial foundation. A now missing section of Nevin's ranch house was also a log building.
The first barn consisted of an approximately 15 to 20 cm thick layer of historic artifacts and building hardware capped by a 3 cm to 5 cm thick burn layer consisting of black charcoal overlying orange soil oxidized through exposure to high temperatures. The first barn was destroyed by fire. Heat deformed glass bottle fragments indicate that the temperature of the fire exceeded 1000° F. Temporally diagnostic artifacts found below the burn horizon indicate that the fire occurred on or after 1912 when the site was owned by the Kindt Sheep Co. The first barn dated to the Nevin, Rawlins Livestock, and early Kindt Sheep Company occupation of the site.
A plan view drawing of the remains of the Nevin Homestead’s barn.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
A new building was quickly built on top of the remains of the original barn shortly after it burned down after 1912. This building is referred to as Structure 2. This building dated to the later Kindt Sheep Co. occupation of the site. The second barn consisted of four rows of individual dry-laid unshaped rock cobble clusters, three wooden post stubs, and a linear brick feature. The cobble clusters were likely footers for roof support posts suggesting that the second barn was an early example of a pole barn where the weight of the roof was supported by interior vertical poles rather than load-bearing exterior walls. No internal or external foundations or wall remains were noted. A 10 to 15 cm thick layer of historic artifacts are present above the burn layer. The types of artifacts found in the second barn and their distribution across the excavation block are very similar to what was found in the first barn indicating that the functions of the two barns were the same. The second barn fell into disuse in the 1920s or 1930s and the wooden walls and roof were scavenged for use elsewhere.
An overview of the excavation block at the Nevin Homestead looking west.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The Structure 2 pedestaled rock cobble concentrations likely supported the roof of the building. A linear brick feature runs across the west end of the excavation block. The brick feature consists of a single layer of bricks which were laid on edge. The brick feature was also put in place after the fire which destroyed the first barn and is a part of the second barn. It is too thin to be a load bearing foundation and was likely a walkway.
An overview of the excavation block at the Nevin Homestead looking east.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Three square wooden posts are present at the far-left end of the block. These posts were cut off at what was ground level. Barns usually had an associated corral area around it. When the second barn was built following the fire which destroyed the first barn, the new barn was built directly over the footprint of the earlier building so that the corral could continue to be used without substantial modification.
An overview of the excavation block at the Nevin Homestead looking to the south.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
A burn horizon was noted during the excavation. The burn horizon consisted of a layer of charcoal on top of a layer of soil which was oxidized through exposure to heat. The burn horizon was between one and two inches (3-5 cm) thick. This burn horizon marks the destruction of the Nevin, Rawlins Livestock, and early Kindt Sheep Company barn. Artifacts found below the burn horizon reflect the use of this early barn. Artifacts were dominated by nails, screws, and window glass from the building walls, roof, and possible floor, all deposited when the building burned down. Also present were alcoholic beverage bottles, melted glass fragments, ammunition, clinkers and coal fragments, personal items, indeterminate can fragments, and tools, equipment, and hardware. Artifact density concentrations were found along the margins of Structure 1. This indicates that materials deposited within Structure 1 were swept to the edges of the building interior or were deposited outside the building.
An overview of the west wall of the excavation block showing the burn horizon.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The burn horizon, which marks the destruction of the first barn, is shown directly below a rock cobble from the second barn. The burn horizon consists of a layer of black charcoal over orange oxidized soil created by the 1000° + F. temperatures resulting from the burning of the wooden barn. The cobbles representing the second barn were placed directly above the burn horizon with little or no stratigraphic separation.
A view of a pedistaled rock cobble within the excavation block.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The burn horizon is less distinct in this area but a brown glass beer or whiskey bottle base is visible below the cobble and above the north arrow. The bottle was deposited during the Nevin, Rawlins Livestock Co., or early Kindt Sheep Co. use of Structure 1.
A view of a pedistaled rock cobble within the excavation block.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Artifacts uncovered during the excavation include a rubber and canvas bag, a broken set of sheep shears and a large diameter auger bit. The artifacts were found near the burn horizon in the first barn and reflect the Nevin, Rawlins Livestock, or Early Kindt occupation.
In situ artifacts found in the Nevin Homestead excavation block.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Other artifacts include a horseshoe, some lead pipe, and an iron rod. These artifacts were deposited just outside the eastern wall of the barn. These artifacts are associated with the later Kindt occupation.
In situ artifacts associated with the second barn.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
An adjustable slide wrench was found in Structure 2. The wrench was missing the adjustment knob which would have moved the lower half of the jaw of the wrench. It was likely discarded as no longer usable.
Adjustable slide wrench
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
A silver dime was recovered from Structure 2. The dime has a mint date of 1901. The coin is a Barber Dime, named for Charles Barber, Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. Barber Dimes were produced by United States Mints between 1892 and 1916. The dime has a head of Liberty on one face with the words United States of America and the mint date surrounding the head. The opposite face has the words ONE DIME surrounded by a wreath. The coin has no mint mark indicating that it was minted at the Philadelphia Mint. The mint date of 1901 would indicate that it was struck within the Structure 1 time range, but it was recovered from an Structure 2 context. Given their value, coins maintained a long use-life. This coin was lost outside the southeast corner of Structure sometime after 1912.
1901 Barber Dime
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Ammunition remains consist of rifle, pistol, and shotgun shell casings. A minimum of 10 weapons is reflected in the shell casings recovered from Structure 1. These include a minimum of one .22 caliber rifle, one .25 automatic, one 25.20 pistol, one 30 caliber Luger, one .32 caliber automatic pistol, one 32.20 rifle or pistol, two types of .38 caliber weapons including one .38 caliber automatic pistol and one .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Special, one .44.40 caliber rifle or pistol, and one 12-gauge shotgun.
The shell casings attributed to Structure cannot be divided between Nevin, the Rawlins Livestock, or the Kindt-Davis personnel. Hunting weapons were entirely small caliber guns used for small to medium sized animals at close range. This corresponds to the faunal assemblage for Structure 1 which is entirely devoid of medium to large game animal remains. Hunting medium to large game for subsistence or entertainment was largely absent from the Structure 1 materials recovered from the excavation block.
A photo of a sample of shell casings recovered from Structure 1.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Ammunition found in Structure 2 consists of rifle, pistol, shotgun shell casings, and 12 lead bullets. A minimum of 12 weapons is reflected in the shell casings recovered from Structure 2. These include a minimum of one .22 caliber rifle, one 25-20 pistol, one 30.06 Springfield, one .30 Remington, one .30-30 Winchester, one .32 caliber automatic pistol, one 32-20 rifle or pistol, one .32 Smith & Wesson, one 32-40 rifle, one .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Special, one .44-40 caliber rifle or pistol, and one 12-gauge shotgun. Shell casings derived from large caliber rifles associated with hunting are very rare in Structure 2. No culturally-derived wild game faunal remains were recovered from Structure 2.
A photo of a sample of shell casings recovered from Structure 2.
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
A small spoked wheel which was from a baby carriage (pram), or a child's tricycle was uncovered during the excavation. This is an indication of the presence of children at the Nevin Homestead. The only children documented at the homestead were Nevin's. No children were noted at the site during the Rawlins Livestock Co. or Kindt Sheep Co. occupation of the site.
An in situ artifact found in Structure 1
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
A ceramic doll’s head was recovered from the first barn. The doll’s head was deposited prior to the fire which destroyed Structure 1. The head is of a young child and is made from pink colored unglazed porcelain bisque. The pink coloration is present throughout the porcelain; it is not a slip or glaze. The only coloration on the doll’s head is a single blue dot representing an eyeball. The head broke off from the doll’s body at the neck. A groove runs from side to side through the neck which would have held a rod which connected the arms allowing up and down movement of the arms. The doll’s head has a molded face with eyes, nose, mouth, puffy cheeks, and faint eyebrows. Molded uncolored curly hair is present at the base of the skull partially covering the ears. There is no hair detail along the top of the head however there is a protuberance containing two small holes. This was the anchor for a cloth bonnet or other type of hat. Thread would have been passed through the holes to secure the headgear. The doll very likely belonged to one of Frank Nevin's children.
A small fragment of a clay tobacco pipe was also recovered from Structure 1.
A ceramic doll’s head
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Clothing Fasteners from Structure 1 include 11 buttons and one stud. This includes eight mother of pearl buttons and one hard rubber button. These buttons were shirt buttons. One brass collar stud was also recovered. Two ceramic buttons were also recovered. One is a black ceramic domed Gaiter button and the second is a white ceramic domed shoe button (SMW1.99). As the names indicate these buttons were used on footwear including shoes and gaiters, but they are frequently associated with women’s and children’s clothing. The presence of children at the site is reflected in the presence of the doll’s head, the spoked wheel, and the two domed Prosser gaiter and shoe buttons. This confirms the historic documentation describing the active role which Nevin’s children practiced in the daily operations of the homestead.
Clothing Fasteners from Structure 1
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
Other Fastener included 21 button fragments representing a minimum of 15 buttons, one brass snap fastener, and one suspender adjuster. The buttons include five complete and eight fragmentary mother of pearl buttons (3 four-hole dish shirt buttons; 6 four-hole dish cuff buttons; 2 two-hole pantywaist buttons and 3 indeterminate fragments. One white ceramic Prosser four-hole dish cuff-button was also recovered. One white Prosser ceramic disk was also recovered. It has a hole on one face and a rough raised disk on the other which may have held a shank. One brass snap fastener with a birdcage attachment on the back was recovered. Finally, one nickel plated metal suspender adjuster was noted. The suspender adjuster has the words EXTRA HEAVY on one side.
Clothing Fasteners from Structure 2
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
The Nevin Homestead was typical of small late nineteenth and early twentieth century livestock operations in Wyoming. It began as a small family-run cattle ranch which produced resoureces for its own use with any surplusses sold to local markets. This type of operation generally followed one of three courses, it could grow larger by expanding and/or absorbing other ranches, it could be absorbed by a larger operation or it could be abandoned and disappear. The Nevin Homestead followed the second course, it was absorbed into larger sheep and cattle operations.
What makes the Nevin Homestead historically significant is that it operated at a time of great change in Wyoming ranching. Historical sources suggest that the transition from the Open Range to Midwest Cattle Tradition across Wyoming occurred almost immediately after the bad winters of the late 1880s. Historical and archaeological evidence from the Nevin Homestead supports this contention. Within three years of the bad winter of 1886-1887, the Nevin Homestead was beginning to show all the hallmarks of the Midwest System. Noted Wyoming historian T. A. Larson wrote, “Cowboys and cattlemen in Wyoming in 1880 were rarely Texans, but were far more likely to be from the Midwest”. Nevin, being from Kentucky fits this pattern. If historical and archaeological studies of small ranch/homesteads show that Midwest Cattle Tradition attributes were present at this type of site in the 1880s, then the Nevin Homestead would help explain the rapid transition from the nineteenth century Open Range system to the beginnings of today's modern ranching.
The Nevin Homestead barn
Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs
