In 1875 an African Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in Wyoming. By 1910 there were eleven Black churches in the state.
Cheyenne's oldest African-American Woman's Club was founded December 4, 1904 by Clara Ashford, Mary Baker, Carrie Smith, DeMargie Tolliver, Lula Jefferson, Hattie Gaskins, Helen Stacker, Hudie Crutchfield, Lena Ward, and Ollie. In an interview done with an April, 1969 Cheyenne newspaper Mrs. Robert Rhone, the President of the Searchlight Club at the time of the interview, explained the purpose of the club. "We the Negro women of the city of Cheyenne, feeling the need of a systematic effort along social, charitable and intellectual lines, in order to elevate our people to help others as well as ourselves, organized the Searchlight Club."
The club was also formed in reaction to the 1904 Joe Martin lynching in Laramie. A sister organization of the club formed in Rock Springs where both men and women were involved. The two clubs shared ideas as to how to solve challenges faced by Wyoming's Black community and scholarly papers and pursuits.
Not much is known about the club's early activities. In 1921 the club put an advertisement in the September 27, 1921 Wyoming State Tribune/Cheyenne State Leader asking for clothes to help the 10,000 African-American victims left homeless after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Lola and William West owned the Black and Tan Cafe/Club a popular place for the Black community to gather. Lola and William came to Cheyenne at some point in 1925. The first mention of them is in the 1926 Cheyenne City Directory. By the 1930 federal census Lola is listed as the head of the household. It is unclear what happened to William, the most likely scenario is he died, but he and Lola may have separated. It was common in the 1930s and into the 1940s to list a woman as widowed in the census if she and her husband divorced or were separated.
Lola had 14 rooms to rent and she rented those rooms to Fort FE Warren soldiers' wives. Lola lived on the west end of Cheyenne among Cheyenne's small Black community. Due to Cheyenne's subtle segregation the women she rented to were, most likely, Black. Lola's establishment would have been one of the only places they could safely live in Cheyenne.
Lola's claim to fame, besides her successful business, was she stood up to Cheyenne's powerful. Lola was a key witness for the prosecution in the 1944 corruption and bribery case against Mayor of Cheyenne Ira L. Hanna, Chief of Police Jess B. Ekdall, Captain Gerald J. Morris and Sergeant E.K. Violette of the Cheyenne police force. Not only was Lola a key witness she was also part of the sting operation that caught out these men. Lola was approached by three federal investigators from the Alcohol Tax Unit to help with a sting operation. L.D. Parker and Fred M. Taylor, two of the investigators with the Alcohol Tax Unit, testified to witnessing a $100 payoff from West.
Read more about Lola in Wyoming's Postscript Blog Post: "Lola West, Cheyenne African-American Entrepreneur."
The Inter-Ocean Hotel was built by millionaire, and escaped slave, Barney Ford. The Inter-Ocean Hotel was completed in September, 1875 and became the center of Cheyenne nightlife. The hotel played host to traveling dignitaries, including President Theodore Roosevelt. The hotel burned down in 1916. The land the hotel stood on was sold to Cheyenne Businessman Harry Hynds who built the Hynds Building at that location. For four decades the Inter-Ocean Hotel was considered a landmark of downtown Cheyenne.
The Inter-Ocean Hotel was the second hotel Barney built in Cheyenne. He built his first hotel in Cheyenne soon after the Union Pacific Railroad created Cheyenne. In 1868 his hotel, the Ford Hotel, was standing on Sixteenth Street between Eddy and Ferguson Street. In January of 1870 a fire burned through most of Cheyenne's business district, including The Ford Hotel.
4972: Intermarriage Prohibited in certain cases.
All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattoes, Mongolians or Maylays hereafter contracted in the state of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. [L. 1913, c. 57, p1]
4973: Penalty for violation.
Whosoever shall knowingly contract marriage in fact contrary to prohibitions in the preceding section, and whosoever shall knowingly solemnize any such marriage shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon being convicted thereof, shall by punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, or both at the discretion of the court which shall try the cause [L. 1913, c. 57, P2.]
*This statute was first passed in 1869 when Wyoming became a territory it was repealed in 1882, but made a statue again in 1913. The statute wasn't repealed for good until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
2258: Separate School for Colored Children.
When there are 15 or more colored children within any school district, the board of directors thereof, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools may provide a separate school for the instruction of such colored children.
*First passed 1869 when Wyoming became a territory and was repealed in 1957 after the United State Supreme Court declared segregation to be unconstitutional in the land mark 1954 decision Brown Vs. Board of Education.
6-223: Discrimination and segregation prohibited.
No person of good deportment shall be denied the right of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, or the the necessities of life because of race, color, creed, or national origin. (Laws 1957, ch. 206 p. 1)
6-224: Same - Penalty.
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this act [6-223, 6-224] shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed six (6) months, or both. (Laws 1957, ch. 206, p 2.)
Wyoming's Women's Suffrage Guide
Wyoming State Archives Staff. "Could Colored Women Vote in the 1870 election?" Wyohistory.org, 2019.
Newspaper articles can be found at wyonewspapers.org
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