Cody Heritage Museum Joins Impressive List of Cultural Attractions in Cody/Yellowstone Country
CODY, Wyo., July 13, 2018 – With its grand opening July 19, the Cody Heritage Museum further strengthens the region’s standing of Cody/Yellowstone Country as a foremost destination of historical significance. The new museum focuses on the founding of the town of Cody, its history of ranching and agriculture, early businesses, the relationship with Yellowstone National Park, cowboys, rodeo and local families.
“We are so fortunate to have so many high-quality museums,” said Claudia Wade, director of the Park County Travel Council, the marketing arm for the region. “We sincerely welcome the Cody Heritage Museum, and we are all eager to check out the exhibits and to share Cody’s story.”
Located in the historic DeMaris house on Cody’s main drag of Sheridan Ave., the new museum is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays during the summer and by appointment on Saturdays and during the winter. Grand opening information can be found online.
Among the area’s museums are:
Buffalo Bill Center of the West
An affiliate of the Smithsonian, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a world-class facility featuring five museums under one roof. It was founded in 1917 to preserve the legacy and vision of Buffalo Bill Cody and is the oldest and most comprehensive museum of the American West. Its five museums are the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Natural History Museum. The facility also includes the Harold McCracken Research Library. The Center of the West is located in downtown Cody at 720 Sheridan Ave.
he Powell Homesteader Museum is located in a building constructed of logs found near the east gate to Yellowstone National Park.
The Homesteader Museum
Located in nearby Powell, The Homesteader Museum celebrates a rich history with thousands of artifacts, historic buildings and photographs depicting the domestic, entrepreneurial and rugged homesteading life of the early Big Horn Basin pioneer. The museum is housed in a building built with logs from near the east gate to Yellowstone National Park for the American Legion in 1933, and the space has been used as a banquet and community dance hall, roller rink and teen center. During WWII it briefly housed German prisoners of war. The museum moved into the building in 1972. Original art deco chandeliers still hang from the beams.
Cody Dug Up Gun Museum
The Cody Dug Up Gun Museum in downtown Cody features more than 1,000 relic guns and other weapons found throughout the country and from many different time periods including the American Revolution, the Gold Rush Era, The United States Civil War, the Old West and Indian Wars, World War I, The Roaring ‘20s and World War II. This free museum – donations are accepted – is a delightful combination of serious and whimsical that surprises many of its visitors with fascinating stories of lost and found.
The Meeteetse Museum tells the story of the black-footed ferret, thought to be extinct until several were discovered in the area.
Meeteetse Museums
The town of Meeteetse features three museums under an umbrella organization that includes the Charles Belden Photography Museum, the Meeteetse Museum and the Bank Museum. The Belden Museum features the photographic works of Charles Belden, many which document daily life on the Pitchfork Ranch from about 1914 through the early 1940s. The Belden Museum also showcases the personal memorabilia of the photographer and his family. The exhibit “Little Wahb, the Grizzly Bear” and the Olive Fell Gallery are also located there. Meeteetse Museum contains exhibits that tell the stories of wild sheep of North America, the black-footed ferret, the Forest Service Cabin, the Meeteetse Mercantile and the Saddle Room. Meeteetse Museum is also home to a number of important western sculptures by the late Harry Jackson. The Bank Museum is located in the newly restored First National Bank of Meeteetse, which served as Meeteetse’s bank from 1901 to 1975.
Old Trail Town/Museum of the West
Old Trail Town/Museum of the Old West is an enclave of more than two dozen authentic frontier buildings, including one used by Butch Cassidy and his infamous Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. The cabins were disassembled and reconstructed on the site of the original town of Cody to create an Old West main street, complete with a saloon, stores and residences.
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Cody/Yellowstone Country is comprised of the towns of Cody, Powell and Meeteetse as well as the valley east of Yellowstone National Park.
The area of Park County called “Cody/Yellowstone Country” was the playground of Buffalo Bill Cody himself. Buffalo Bill founded the town of Cody in 1896, and the entire region was driven and is still heavily influenced by the vision of the Colonel. Today its broad streets, world-class museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West and thriving western culture host nearly 1 million visitors annually.
Related hashtags: #YellowstoneCountry #CodyWyoming #CenteroftheWest #BuffaloBill #Yellowstone # Wyoming
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Mesereau Travel Public Relations
(970) 286-2751
