Writer

Jackie Dorothy

Jackie Dorothy is a reporter for Cowboy State Daily based in central Wyoming.

Over the past 20 years, Jackie has worked in television, radio and print across Wyoming. In this role, she has won numerous writing and history awards including the Wyoming Governor’s Journalist of the Year and SBA Journalist of the Year.

Jackie is also the podcast host of ‘Pioneers of Outlaw Country’ that explores little known historical stories of Wyoming with entertaining narrative.

Follow Jackie Dorothy

Latest from Jackie Dorothy

Tom Neiwirth is the grandson of Deputy Sheriff Sam Swanner. When he was given his dad’s gun, he began to research the history and discovered it most likely once belonged to George Spencer, a 30-year-old horse thief, that had been gunned down in Idaho in 1892.

Wyoming Man Discovers Grandfather’s Colt .44 Is A Notorious Outlaw Gun

A Wyoming man has discovered a family heirloom — an ivory-handled Colt .44 revolver — is a part of Old West outlaw history thought to be lost. It was owned by a notorious horse thief who was killed in a shootout with his grandfather.

Jackie DorothyAugust 02, 2025

The cemetery below Roundtop Mountain was founded in the early 1900s, nearly 150 years after a battle is believed to have been fought on the summit of Roundtop.

Wyoming History: 250 Years Ago, Pivotal Battle Was Fought On Roundtop Mountain

Roundtop Mountain near Thermopolis, Wyoming, is now a popular hiking destination, but it’s also where the Shoshone are said to have gotten their first horses. That came from a pivotal battle fought there against settlers about 250 years ago.

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025

Triton Fritz enjoyed the horse riding and playing with the camp dogs at Camp Courage, a camp devoted to kids like him who are fighting cancer and tumors.

At Camp Courage Wyoming, Kids Living With Cancer Can Just Be Kids

Kids living with cancer, tumors and other life-threatening ailments often have to grow up quickly to deal with some very adult things. At Camp Courage in Dubois, Wyoming, they get to put cancer on the back burner for awhile and just be kids.

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025

Yoder Cowgirl Says National High School Rodeo Title A Testament To Her Rodeo Family

Hadley Thompson of Yoder, Wyoming, won the National High School Finals Rodeo women’s all-around title last weekend. She said her passion for the sport comes from hours of practice and a family dedicated to rodeo .

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025

Cowboys on the range. Depicts many men sitting in front of a cook's tent in the late 1800s.

Wyoming History: Cowboys Were Tough, Determined And Could Gossip Up A Storm

Surviving in the remote settlements of the Wyoming Territory in the late 1880s took grit, determination and getting into everyone’s business. Cowboys were tough, and also could gossip up a storm to combat loneliness and hard living.

Jackie DorothyJuly 26, 2025

The pessimistic belief that anything that can go wrong likely predates modern history, but calling it “Murphy’s Law” began in Wyoming, a historian says. It dates back to the early 1880s and building the Ames Monument in the wrong place.

Historian Says Wyoming’s Ames Monument Is The Birthplace Of ‘Murphy’s Law’

The pessimistic belief that anything that can go wrong will likely predates modern history, but calling it “Murphy’s Law” began in Wyoming, a historian says. It dates back to the early 1880s and building the Ames Monument in the wrong place.

Jackie DorothyJuly 21, 2025

Samatha and Austin Hawkins were working at Teton National Forest when she became ill and started experiencing brain hemorrhaging. The couple moved to Lander where she would have a consistent doctor and Austin discovered an urgency to write his book, “Going Nowhere Slow.”

When His Wife Nearly Died, Lander Man Started Writing — And He Hasn’t Stopped

When Austin Hawkins' wife developed life-threatening brain hemorrhages, he realized he couldn’t waste any more time thinking about writing a book. The result was “Going Nowhere Slow,” a dark comedy he had been wanting to write for more than a decade.

Jackie DorothyJuly 20, 2025

Jacob Snyder, above, was a close friend of Butch Cassidy, below, and, like Cassidy, claimed he was not an outlaw, but had been framed as a thief by a Wyoming ranch foreman with a grudge. History says maybe, maybe not. They were both inmates at the territorial prison in Laramie at the same time.

Wyoming History: That Time Buddies Butch Cassidy And Jacob Snyder Were Framed

Jacob Snyder was a close friend of Butch Cassidy and, like Cassidy, claimed he was not an outlaw, but had been framed as a thief by a Wyoming ranch foreman with a grudge. History says maybe, maybe not.

Jackie DorothyJuly 20, 2025

Amber Sessock, center, has worked at the Cowboy Cafe since she was 14. She was the lucky waitress who received a nearly $1,500 in a tip from two best friends from Iowa, Brandi Macumber and Tamara Bane, who are on a tipping mission to celebrate servers.

Dubois Café Worker Brought To Tears With $1,500 Tip

Two Iowa women on an annual road trip are on a mission to leave huge tips for local servers across the nation. They were in Dubois on Friday and brought their server to tears with a $1,500 tip.

Jackie DorothyJuly 20, 2025

Archaeologists use obsidian to determine how far people traveled on ancient trade routes in early Wyoming. Each obsidian flake bears a unique volcanic fingerprint that points to their place of origin. Here, workers excavate a lost outpost in the Laramie Valley.

Wyoming’s Obsidian Trails A Roadmap Of Critical Ancient Trade Routes

Archaeologists use obsidian to determine how far people traveled on ancient trade routes across Wyoming. Each obsidian flake bears a unique volcanic fingerprint that points to its place of origin, which can be hundreds of miles away.

Jackie DorothyJuly 16, 2025

Black powder filled the air at the Douglas shooting range as 4-H kids, ages 8 to 18, competed in the annual Wyoming State Shoot this past Friday and Saturday.

Wyoming Rite Of Passage: 600 4-H Kids Show Out At State Shooting Competition

Learning to shoot is a Wyoming rite of passage and one of the fundamental programs of the state’s 4-H clubs. More than 600 4-H kids gathered in Douglas this past week to show out at the Wyoming State Shoot.

Jackie DorothyJuly 14, 2025

Justin Beasley began working on bulls with his VOM tool, not expecting the amazing results or how tame a treatment would make the bulls to him.

Meet Dr. Cowboy, The Animal Chiropractor Putting More Buck Into Rodeo Bulls

When a rodeo bull refuses to buck, Dr. Cowboy uses his animal chiropractic tools to bring them back to life. He has successfully convinced even the most stubborn cowboy that this newfangled tool and technique is just the cure for their ailing bulls.

Jackie DorothyJuly 13, 2025

Other Authors

In December 1966, 9-year-old Robert Hendry, son of historian Mary Hendry, posed with the mysterious Boot Map. Some prospectors believe that this carving is a map to the Lost Cabin Gold Mine along the Badwater Creek in central Wyoming.

160 Years After It Was Lost, Treasure Hunters Still Search For Lost Cabin Gold Mine

Hidden away in the Bighorns is a mysterious drawing carved on the surface of a massive granite boulder. Dubbed the “Boot Map,” old-timers have theorized for decades that the drawing, which resembles a Spanish boot, is a map leading to the Lost Cabin Gold Mine.

Jackie DorothyJuly 12, 2025

Wyoming sheep baron J.B. Okie, bottom, was throwing an opulent high-society party when it was crashed by Sheriff Frank K. Webb, above, and his prisoner. That prisoner was Otto Chenoweth, an outlaw horse thief who escaped and charmed the ladies as a dashing gentleman.

Wyoming History: Otto Chenoweth, The Gentleman Outlaw Of Lost Cabin

Sheep baron J.B. Okie was throwing a high-society party at his opulent mansion in Lost Cabin, Wyoming, when it was crashed by the sheriff and his prisoner. That prisoner was Otto Chenoweth, an outlaw horse thief who escaped and charmed the ladies as a dashing gentleman.

Jackie DorothyJuly 06, 2025

Wyoming History: Mountain Man Joe Meek Survived Bears And Blackfeet Raids

When an 18-year-old Joe Meek arrived in the wilderness of Wyoming in 1829, the greenhorn had to toughen up fast to survive bears and hostile tribes. When he fell asleep on guard duty, he also survived the wrath of Capt. William Sublette.

Jackie DorothyJuly 05, 2025

It may be great to fantasize about “Ranching Rich,” but that’s not real ranching in Wyoming, says Cody singer-songwriter Kalyn Beasley. Buddy Ned LeDoux is featured in his new song, an ode to real ranching in the West.

Ned LeDoux Featured On Wyoming Singer-Songwriter’s Ode To Real Ranching

It may be great to fantasize about “Ranching Rich,” but that’s not real ranching in Wyoming, says Cody singer-songwriter Kalyn Beasley. His friend Ned LeDoux is featured in the new song, an ode to real ranching in the West.

Jackie DorothyJuly 05, 2025

Lesleigh Ann Schaefer has put 100,000 miles on her 2019 Subaru exploring and photographing Wyoming from its rarely-traveled backroads. Now homebound with terminal cancer, her adopted home of Thermopolis has rallied to make her final days special.

Beloved Photographer Shares Beauty Of Wyoming Even As She Faces End Of Life

Lesleigh Ann Schaefer has put 100,000 miles on her 2019 Subaru photographing Wyoming from its rarely-traveled backroads. Now homebound with terminal cancer, she can only take photos from her backyard. Her adopted home of Thermopolis has rallied to make her final days special.

Jackie DorothyJune 29, 2025

In 1887, the wild man of Chugwater, dubbed Bud by the locals, roamed around Chugwater Valley, as it was known then, and alluded capture by cowboys and circus men.

Wyoming History: Chugwater Wild Man Was 7-12 Feet Tall And Faster Than A Horse

Newspapers reported the Wild Man of Chugwater was between 7 and 12 feet tall, covered in dark hair and could run faster than any horse. He even eluded a hunt in 1887 by a circus owner who wanted to put him in a cage for his freak show.

Jackie DorothyJune 28, 2025

Wyoming History: Thermopolis Was Founded By A Dashing Outlaw Bachelor

Ben Hanson was the founder of Thermopolis, Wyoming, and a well-respected businessman and cattleman. He also was a dashing outlaw bachelor who was quick with his gun and friends with the notorious Wild Bunch.

Jackie DorothyJune 23, 2025

Wyoming Rancher Was At The Birth Of Certified Angus Beef — Drinking Highballs

The Certified Angus Beef program was the first of its kind, and when Wyoming rancher Jack Schmidt first heard the idea over a highball, he thought it was silly. Then he watched the industry turn upside down as Black Angus became the breed of choice.

Jackie DorothyJune 21, 2025

Carl Dunrud, Wyoming cowboy and Yellowstone Park Ranger, lassoed this male polar bear cub in Baffin Bay. He successfully captured the 2-year-old during the Putnam Greenland Expedition of 1926 and brought it to New York to the Bronx Zoo.

Wyoming History: That Time A Yellowstone Park Ranger Lassoed Polar Bears

Carl Dunrud steadied himself against the small schooner. It was 1926 and the Yellowstone Park ranger and Wyoming cowboy had a lasso ready as he eyed his target. Looking back at him was a polar bear swimming in the cold Arctic Sea.

Jackie DorothyJune 21, 2025