The Guinard Cabin was originally located on Wyoming Street. The cabin belonged to Louis Guinard, Jr., whose father is noted for constructing a bridge across the North Platte River in 1858 at the site of the Mormon Ferry. The Guinard Cabin is now the office of MAW and the information area for our visitors.

This schoolhouse was built at Borner’s Garden, an area near the mouth of Sinks Canyon. John Borner was one of the earliest settlers in the Lander Valley. He planted a large garden and trucked his produce into Lander to sell. His sister-in-law was the notorious Calamity Jane. The Borner’s Garden Schoolhouse holds a Pioneer Summer School during the month of June. Children dress in period clothing, read from McGuffey Readers, write on slates, and practice penmanship with quill pens. The school is also used by the local school district to show children how learning was in the past.

This church was founded by the Congregational Society and later supervised by the Episcopalians and the Reverend John Roberts to serve the town of Hudson, Wyoming. Reverend Roberts came to the Wind River Indian Reservation in 1883 and established an Episcopal Mission at Fort Washakie.

The cabin was built on the east side of Table Mountain, south of Lander, by Wilbur Coutant. His father, Dr. Charles G. Coutant, was Wyoming’s first historian. Parts of the “History of Wyoming” were researched and written in this house. In 1899, the house was moved to Lander where it became the home of Eva Lamberson, who was known as Lander’s poet laureate. The Coutant House has been set aside to house traveling exhibits, art shows, and photographic displays. If you are a descendant of an early pioneer in the Lander Valley and have stories handed down by your ancestors please contact the Museum of the American West.

This Cabin was originally located on the Hornecker Homestead in the Sinks Canyon area. It has been renovated and is now exhibited as an early day saloon.

The Laird Cabin, built by James Gilbert Laird, was originally located on Squaw Creek. James Laird came to the Lander Valley in 1868. He married Matilda “Tillie” Maude Rogers when she was only 14 years of age. They had 14 children, only eleven of whom survived to adulthood. James served in the Civil War, in the Navy, and was reported to be one of the best farmers in the valley. The Laird Cabin houses a permanent National Forest Service exhibit. This exhibit contains items from over 80 years ago.

Peter P. Dickinson came to Lander in 1874. He married Margaret Heenan, the widow of a man slain near Miner’s Delight. P.P. and Maggie were two of Lander’s earliest business people. They started the Cottage Home Hotel together and then P.P. branched out to build the first livery stable. An ad for the Dickinson Stables boasted, “Headquarters for Tourists, Mining and Oil Men, Intending Settlers and Everyone going to the opening of the great Shoshone Indian Reservation. Good Rigs and Careful Drivers for all kinds of trips.” This building exhibits many articles used by the early pioneers settling the Lander Valley, from wagons to farm equipment, building tools to fencing supplies.

Built in 1917, the Stough House is the former residence of Charles L. Stough, who came to Wyoming in 1880. In the fall of 1890, he was elected sheriff of Fremont County. He administered his office in a way that made him a terror to evildoers and gained him the enduring confidence of the County. He is most known for arresting the notorious “Butch” Cassidy and, upon his conviction, conveying him to the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary in Laramie. The Stough House is currently portrayed as a home from that era.

Located near the old stockyards between Railroad Avenue and First Street, this cabin originally housed a fur trading business. H.A. Smith bought and sold hides of all kinds, especially sheep hides for the textile companies back east. During World War II, he began a metal salvage business to help in the war effort. This salvage business led to the present day HASCO Industrial Supply Company located in Riverton, Wyoming. HASCO stands for H.A. Smith Company and is owned by his son and daughter-in-law. Restoration is now complete and the cabin exhibits articles that might be found in a fur trappers trading post, in keeping with the original purpose for which it was built.

Olive States and her family came to Wyoming in 1903 from Lincoln, Nebraska. Olive, with the help of her brother and father, built this cabin originally located in Sinks Canyon, Wyoming, overlooking Sheep Creek. The cabin was entirely exposed to the elements and she aptly named it “Westwind”. For two years, she lived there alone with only her piano to keep her company. She spent her time “home-schooling” neighborhood children as well as helping out at the family ranch. On October 20, 1915, she married Edwin Bentley. The cabin displays artifacts depicting the life of the frontier woman.