Vickie Zimmer

Goshen County (Images of America) Vickie Zimmer

Either a French trapper named Goshe or the biblical Land of Goshen was responsible for the name given to Wyoming's southeast region. In 1911, the Wyoming Legislature approved a bill to create Goshen County, and it was signed by Gov. Joseph Carey. The county was extracted from Laramie County and is bordered by the state of Nebraska, as well as Platte, Laramie, and Niobrara Counties. Goshen County has blossomed from settlers passing through on the Oregon-California trail, which cut across the county, to an area that includes farming and ranching, a railroad transporting coal from the northern part of the state, and several small towns that support schools, post offices, retail entities, factories, and municipal governments. The towns of Torrington, Lingle, Fort Laramie, Hawk Springs, Yoder, LaGrange, Veteran, and Jay Em make up the county. This volume details the growth of Goshen County due to the Homestead Act of 1862, an irrigation project near Hawk Springs, and veterans from World War I who were part of a second round of homesteading.