Baptist church in Ten Sleep
Ten Sleep is a town in Washakie County, Wyoming, United States. It is located in the Big Horn Basin in the western foothills of the Big Horn Mountains, about 26 miles (42 km) east of Worland and 59 miles (95 km) west of Buffalo.
The population was 304 at the 2000 census.
Culture
Near the entrance to nearby Ten Sleep Canyon is the former site of the Girl Scout National Center West, a portion of which was one of the largest encampments in the world at 15,000 acres (61 km2). A part of that site is now owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy as the Tensleep Preserve,with facilities for workshops and seminars.
The area continues to thrive as a ranching community. Other industries include mineral extraction (Betonite) and tourism. Logging and other small businesses have dwindled, leaving just a handful of small businesses supporting the community. Three cafes/restaurants, two bars, two motels, a historic hardware store, campground, bank, and a gas station/ convenience store offer the primary services for visitors and locals.
With a diversity of outdoor opportunities, locals mingle with tourists everywhere. Beyond the traditional activities such as hunting, fishing and horseback riding, outdoor enthusiasts today are found within a few miles of Ten sleep participating in rock climbing, kayaking, spelunking, mountain biking, off-highway vehicle riding and camping draw explorers from near and far. Kids still wade in Ten Sleep Creek at the City Park, catch trout anywhere along the stream as it meanders through town and mid-summer is celebrated by tubing (floating the creek on inner tubes).
Annual celebrations include a 2-day rodeo and parade, hinging on the 4th of July celebration of Independence Day (United States). The town's population temporarily quadruples over this period as tourists and area residents gather to celebrate. The main street is also closed to through traffic to accommodate live music that lasts into the wee hours of the morning! Another annual tradition is NoWoodStock,held the second weekend of August. An eclectic mixture of folk, bluegrass, swing, jazz and rock makes this wonderful celebration of music a destination for locals, neighbors and worldwide tourists.
Geography
Ten Sleep is located at 44°2′5″N 107°26′53″W / 44.03472°N 107.44806°W / 44.03472; -107.44806 (44.034724, -107.448023).[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²), all of it land.
History
Ten Sleep was an American Indian rest stop, so called because it was 10 days travel, or “10 sleeps,” from Fort Laramie (southeast), Yellowstone National Park (west-northwest), and the Indian Agency on the Stillwater River in Montana (northwest). There are numerous archeological sites throughout the area, with frequent discoveries of artifacts such as arrowheads, pictographs and petroglyphs.
Ten Sleep was also the site of the Spring Creek Raid,one of the last feuds of the West's Sheep and Cattlemen's War. It was there in March, 1909 that cattlemen attacked sheep herders and their flock, killing three men and shooting hundreds of the sheep. Caught and convicted, this was the end of major conflict, although it was many years before the two livestock growers' groups resolved their differences!
Archeology/Paleontology
Rich in prehistory, fossil specimen of dinosaurs, plants and sealife are prolific throughout the region. One such area ,Big Cedar Fossil Ridge,as described on Page 4 of the link, is open to the public for exploration and collection for personal use.
Geology
The yellowish-gray to white sandstone which forms much of Ten Sleep Canyon is named the Tensleep formation, and dominates much of the western slope of the Big Horn Mountains. The prominent red sandstone, such as Signal cliff just west of Ten Sleep, as well as the dirt hills all along the west slope of the Big Horn Mountains are of the Chugwater formation. Called the "Painted Desert" or "Colored Hills" by locals, the Cloverly formation is finely granuled sandstone, clay and "gumbo". The Cloverly formations contains bands of various mineral colors ranging from greens and grays to red and violets, and are closely associated with strata containing dinosaur fossils. Numerous signs along U.S. 16 from Buffalo, through Ten Sleep and west to Worland identify the various geologic formations and their millennia.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 304 people, 142 households, and 83 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,789.7 people per square mile (690.4/km²). There were 158 housing units at an average density of 930.2/sq mi (358.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.01% White, 0.66% Native American, 0.33% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.
There were 142 households out of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 33.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,250, and the median income for a family was $30,357. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,761. About 2.8% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.8% of those sixty five or over.
References
External links
