Two of Wyoming’s most influential historical organizations say they have finalized their split with the Wyoming Historical Society, and that they will move forward together without the society.
Wyoming Historical Foundation and WyoHistory.org both say they are planning a future together now that they have disassociated themselves from the Wyoming Historical Society.
“The future of the Wyoming Historical Foundation and WyoHistory.org is looking great,” Wyoming Historical Foundation leader Ann Chambers Noble told Cowboy State Daily. “We’re thrilled that the split has been finalized.”
Wyoming Historical Foundation had long been the fundraising arm for the Wyoming Historical Society, putting money into an endowment for them. During the spat with the Society, Noble said the Foundation put that fundraising on hold. Now, with all that behind them, the Foundation is set to begin fundraising anew with WyoHistory.org to be among its new beneficiaries.
“We’re gearing up to help them raise money again, so they can get back to doing what they do best,” Noble said. “Hire great historians and editors to research and write Wyoming History.”
WyoHistory.org’s editor, Kylie McCormick, said the organization is focused right now on finishing up existing contracts with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which includes the “Contexts of Wyoming History.”
“Those are just excellent academic book length works that a lot of people don’t know are available and are free resources available on their website,” she said. “And by taking chapters out of those books and editing them and repurposing them to be WyoHistory.org articles, we’re hoping to get more attention on the great work SHPO has done over the years and also fill some important gaps in our encyclopedia.”
WyoHistory.org will also pursue nonprofit status, McCormick said, and eventually emerge as an independent entity all its own.
While it does that, both Wyoming Historical Foundation and American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming are serving as temporary fiscal agents for the organization, to ensure continued financial transparency.
Wyoming Historical Society's executive director, Aley Philp, said the change reflects WyoHistory.org's success.
"The Wyoming Historical Society's Executive Board and staff are incredibly proud of the Society's role in nurturing WyoHistory.org from its inception to the mature historical resource it is today," she said. "This organizational change reflects the site's ongoing success and expanded operational needs. We fully support WyoHistory.org's path to becoming an independent non-profit entity."
About WyoHistory.org
WyoHistory.org offers an extensive encyclopedia of Wyoming history, as well as a map of places where interesting history has happened, including suggested travel itineraries, oral histories, field trips, and more. It had been under the Society’s umbrella since 2010.
Earlier this year, WyoHistory.org founder Tom Rea confirmed that his organization’s break with the Society had been building for a while. They quietly initiated negotiations for a separation in March of this year.
In its media statement, WyoHistory.org said the organization had been contemplating “the change to complete independence due to its growth and maturity” for years and that “changes in the WHS compelled (it) to finally take the leap.”
During the negotiation period, which lasted nine months, WyoHistory.org was not able to access funds held by the Society, which forced it to slow and eventually stop publishing for a time.
Publishing resumed in July, albeit at a slower pace, McCormick said.
The pace is about to kick into high gear now, she added, and might even exceed the more usual pace of two articles per month. That’s thanks to back-logged material, as well as new resources.
Among their latest articles is one about a 16-hour crime spree in 1955 that started in Kemmerer and led to a manhunt across southwest Wyoming.
This year they will launch a special topics page focused on founding history, which will feature “men and women of all different races and backgrounds,” who were “founders in the fields of politics, exploration, education, arts, culture, industry and agriculture.”
That will be paired with oral histories that American Heritage Center already has in their collection.
“And then we’re also going to have some Wyoming educators work on creating lesson plans to go with all of this,” McCormick said. “So that way, it’s something that can be brought into Wyoming classrooms for students to really think about. What is our civic duty? What does it mean to be a citizen? How can I contribute to my community? And really think about those questions at a local level and have some inspirational figures to look at when you’re thinking about Wyoming history, too.”
No Confidence Vote
The rift between Wyoming Historical Society and its fundraising arm emerged in February, with accusations flying between the two. Questions begin to swirl in the wake of a missed deadline for the organization’s tax statement in 2024, which led the Wyoming Secretary of State to administratively dissolve the entity on Dec. 9.
About 100 of the Society’s individual chapter members signed a no-confidence letter in mid-May, accusing their parent organization of holding some meetings without proper notice as well as without a genuine quorum.
The letter also questioned recent changes to the organization’s bylaws, which they felt used an online voting mechanism that disenfranchised some members, and hit back at cease-and-desist letters that were being sent to members who were asking questions.
In June, the rift widened, with Wyoming Historical Society booting out all of its county chapters, a decision Wyoming Historical Society President Beki Speas said was necessary for the organization to grow.
“This shift reflects a larger vision — one that ensures local historical groups can operate with greater autonomy, flexibility, and local control over their missions and management,” she wrote at the time. “Each organization will now have the opportunity to establish itself as an independent nonprofit entity, shaping its own future while continuing to preserve and share Wyoming’s history in ways that best serve their communities.”
The split left the nonprofits to look after themselves, including administrative oversight and their nonprofit status. Despite that, Speas said the Society would continue to support the nonprofits, just not as their “overseers.”
“We truly believe that local control is the best path forward, allowing historical societies to tailor their operations to the needs of their communities, while still benefiting from WHS’s expertise and support,” Speas said. “This is an opportunity for growth, not retreat — an opportunity to ensure Wyoming’s rich history continues to be preserved and celebrated without bureaucratic restraints limiting its reach.”
The move was described as “unprecedented” by Milward Simpson, nephew of the late Wyoming U.S. Senator, Al Simpson, who has overseen cultural and historic preservation agencies, including the state preservation office, state museum, state archives, state arts council and the state archaeologist.
“It’s shocking to me that they would try to make this look like it’s just kind of growing pains,” Simpson said at the time. “This is not how you play with people, particularly in a small state.”
Annals Moves To State Parks And Cultural Resources
In the days following the Society’s announcement, state organizations began cutting ties with the Society.
In August, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources decided that the American Heritage Center would no longer serve as the Society’s fiscal partner for the Wyoming History Day program.
Wyoming Historical Society had partnered on the project since 1980 but said it would step aside in light of the American Heritage Center’s decision.
“The Wyoming Historical Society continues to highly encourage students’ participation and involvement in the valuable History Day program,” the organization said in a media release. “The WHS will continue to fund and award its annual History Day Scholarship.”
The Society also said it would look at developing new educational initiatives to support teaching Wyoming history.
In September, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources decided it would also no longer partner with the Society on publishing of the Annals of Wyoming, which has been the official publication of the Society since 1953 and published in partnership with the state of Wyoming since 1925.
The name “Annals of Wyoming” belongs to the state. State Parks said it plans to take over the publication.
Speas cast the decision at the time as “not unexpected” due to budget cuts.
“The Society offered to continue its production of the Annals of Wyoming without financial assistance from the state,” she said at the time. “However, despite the fact that the Annals has been the official publication of the Wyoming Historical Society for more than 70 years, SPCR has insisted that they take full control and keep the name. The Society is moving forward with its plans to produce and publish its own independent history magazine.”
The Society’s magazine will be quarterly, though a timeline on when that would start was not given. The organization’s website says the edition is “coming soon” on its page about publications.
Annals of Wyoming will remain in-house with State Parks, McCormick said, and is expected in January.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
