One-Of-A-Kind Wyoming Wax Figure Collection On Track To Be Sold, Saved Instead

Jake Korell, a well-known character in central Wyoming, began trapping when he was 7 years old and continued to live a trapper’s life until his death in 2013 at the age of 98. Over that time, he had amassed a large collection of wildlife mounts, many of which were displayed at the Wind River Heritage Center in Riverton. 

Displays of historical wax figurines were later added when the city of Thermopolis, Wyoming, was looking for a new home for its large collection. Jake, his friends and family offered to adopt the orphans and placed them in the heritage center.  

These lifelike wax figures had been originally displayed in Jackson Hole and represented the history of Wyoming. The Korells wanted to see the collection kept intact, so they accepted the gift. 

After Jake Korell’s death and as his own son wanted to retire, both the displays and the center itself faced an uncertain future when neither the Fremont County museums nor Riverton Chamber was able to oversee the private center. Solutions included dismantling the collection and selling or loaning them to other museums.

Now, a team of volunteers has stepped forward to save the center and its displays — and plans to open the doors once more to the public this month.

Saving The Center And Collection

Amanda Henry, a local business owner, had first toured the center when she was on the Riverton Chamber Board and was amazed by the collection she didn’t realize existed in her childhood hometown.

“I didn't really know what it was or anything about it until we walked through,” Henry said. “I thought it was really cool.”

Originally, the Korell family had gifted the center to the Riverton Chamber, but the board eventually voted not to accept the building, and it has stood virtually vacant for several years.

The bylaws of the chamber were such that when Henry’s term was over on that board, she was automatically appointed to the board for the Wind River Heritage Center along with another former board member, Janet Winslow.

Kip Post is the third member of the board and the three began to look for solutions to save the center and, especially, the collection which was Jake Korell’s legacy. 

“We needed to honor that commitment, especially for Jake's memory,” Henry said. “I didn't want to see it get dismantled and sold off and broken apart.” 

Saving History

Other volunteers also stepped up to help preserve the historical displays, each with their own unique perspective and background. 

Jack Schmidt is a cowboy poet and was looking for a place to display his chuckwagon when he first approached the heritage center about a possible partnership. He was amazed by the collection and joined the effort to save it.  

“History is so dang much fun,” Schmidt said. “We have so much we can learn from history and especially local history like we have at the heritage center.”

For Henry, who is Eastern Shoshone, her family has been in the area for generations and she wants to create a place that not only preserves the collections but the local stories.

“I grew up with my grandmother talking to me about her lifestyle and the reservation,” Henry said. “What she experienced as a child and so I have that side of the history.”

Carolyn Brubaker writes historical fiction and was asked by her daughter, Bethany Baldes, to help on the project. She is now writing the stories of each display for a self-guided tour. She discovered that the displays represented nearly the entire history of Wyoming. 

“I'm passionate about finding the stories about Wyoming history that people don't know,” Brubaker said. “That's my bread and butter is finding all these cool stories about Wyoming and its right here.” 

The wax figure displays have been updated to include Korell’s wildlife mounts and represent stories ranging from the Native American pre-history to Thomas Edison’s visit during an eclipse. The volunteers had even found a wax figure of Richard Nixon and are planning to create a display about the rich oil and minerals of Wyoming. 

The Future 

The volunteers have been renovating the center over the past winter. Their numerous plans include an indoor large meeting space which would be available for groups and outdoor picnic areas. 

While Brubaker and Schmidt were discussing their plans for the heritage center, a family from France stopped by and the pair gave them an impromptu tour. It is people like these that inspire the volunteers to keep moving forward with their plans to save the center and collection. 

“I donated some time down there last summer to be there to check people in, and it gave me more of an appreciation of what we have,” Henry said. “We tend to take the Western lifestyle for granted, but we had all these people from other countries coming through, and I forget how much they love the American West.”

For Schmidt, the challenge he sees is that there are so many possibilities that it can be difficult to see what to pursue. 

“This is a huge facility and there's so many ideas,” he said. “We need to have a game plan on what to do.”

In the process of saving the center, the volunteers have partnered with the Wyoming Historical Society who will be setting up their new office in the renovated building. Previously, the society was located in Torrington but wanted a more centralized location in the state. 

The Wyoming Historical Society also plans to host different fun and educational events related to Wyoming history at the center’s new meeting space. 

 “We basically have two buildings,” Henry said. “One building has all the displays and we've remodeled one space so we can host community events. That's also where the Historical Society offices will be.” 

As they contemplate the future, they are already working on a self-guided audio tour of the historical displays and updated signage. Other ideas include creating the building into a welcome center for visitors and doing fundraising so they can continue the renovations that still need to be done. 

“I would like to see this to be a cowboy welcome center for this part of the country,” Schmidt said. “We had a family that just walked out of here with a little boy, who had a cowboy hat and his boots on. Obviously, they were from some other part of the world and were excited to be here.”

Now that they know the collections will remain intact, the volunteers are looking at the big picture of creating the heritage center as a gathering place. 

“We're writing history,” Henry said. “Literally.”

Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com

Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.