Discover History
Human use of the Bighorn Mountains goes back thousands of years. Much more recently, on February 22, 1897, President Grover Cleveland signed legislation creating the Big Horn Forest Reserve, in recognition of the value these mountains hold for the American people and their livelihood. In 1907, a Congressional Act changed the Reserve to the Big Horn National Forest. Later in 1908, an Executive Order signed by President Theodore Roosevelt changed the name to Bighorn National Forest.
Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark
The Medicine Wheel / Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a major Native American sacred complex and archaeological property used by many different tribes from times before Euro-American contact to the present day.
Historic Fire Lookouts
Three historic fire lookouts still stand in the Bighorn National Forest. As other methods took over the need to staff lookouts, the buildings were closed but still remain as testaments to this chapter in Forest Service history.
Civilian Conservation Corps
Between 1938 and 1940, the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, built roads, bridges, ranger stations, fire lookouts, reservoirs, telephone lines, campgrounds, and trails in the Bighorn National Forest.
Tie Hack Era
The railroad tie industry was at its peak in the 1860s during the construction of the transcontinental railroad across southern Wyoming. Wyoming’s tie hacking industry was developed in four regions around the state, including the eastern slopes of the Bighorn Mountains.