Post Office Art in Wyoming

Post Office Art in Wyoming

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The Fertile Land Remembers Louise Emerson Ronnebeck 1938, oil on canvas Casper, WY

This painting is an example of how challenging it can be to track down some of this artwork. It was originally displayed in a 1938 Post Office building which has since been converted to government offices and is not accessible to the public. Fortunately, it has been moved to the new Dick Chaney Federal Office Building very near its old location. It took quite a bit of searching on Google to find it but it was worth the effort.

I provided two different exposures to pick up the subtle "shadows of the past".

Wyoming has a lot of appreciation for its past and most remnants are well preserved. There is a lot to see beyond Yellowstone and even though things are spread out, travel is fast. My travel blog travelingoldtrails.blogspot.com has two postings, "The Oregon Trail From Fort Kearny to Fort Bridger" and "The Oregon Trail from Fort Bridger to Fort Hall" which highlight Wyoming's role in developing the trails that helped open the West.

My first encounter with Post Office Art was in Helper, Utah but I really became an enthusiast for the subject when I was in Kemmerer, Wyoming doing research for my book Kemmerer Moon. While walking around getting a feel for the town, I noticed a brick building that I knew had to be a Depression era Post Office.

USPS Kemmerer, WY

Sure enough, when I ventured inside I was richly rewarded.

Excavation Eugene Kingman, 1938, oil on canvas

This area of Wyoming is nicknamed "fossil country" and the artwork depicts the discoveries at nearby Fossil Butte NM.

Tertiary Aquatic Life Eugene Kingman 1938 oil on canvas

Cretaceous Landscape Eugene Kingman 1938 oil on canvas

There are three more of these Post Offices in Wyoming which I look forward to visiting next time I'm in the northern part of the state.

Post Office Art in Idaho

Post Office Art in Idaho

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The Roundup and The Arrival Celebration 1939 Andrew Standing Soldier Blackfoot, ID

Idaho has a large amount of Post Office art for such a small state. Much of it has to do with the history of The Oregon Trail but it all reflects the state's role in the development of the American West.

The largest collection of murals I have found in Idaho is in Blackfoot in one of the larger Post Office buildings built during this era. The artist, Andrew Standing Soldier was a member of the Lakota Nation and the only Native American  to receive a commission for one of these murals. It is fitting that it is on display her, on the outskirts of the Fort Hall Shoshone Bannock Reservation.

This collection of murals occupies the entire interior of the building's first floor.

I've used these pictures to give an idea of the scale of this work. Some detail will show this is a representation of Native Americans at work cattle ranching.

It's gratifying to know this major work in constantly on view for the public.

A work that shows Native Americans in a different light in displayed in Preston, Idaho. This work, by Edmund J. Fitzgerald, is titled The Battle of Bear River. In other sources, this event is often called "The Bear River Massacre". It represents the final roundup of the Eastern Shoshone Nation from there encampments on Bear River before forcing them onto the Fort Hall Reservation.

The Battle of Bear River Edmund J. Fitzgerald 1941, Preston, ID

Emigrants on The Oregon Trail followed The Snake River from Fort Hall to Fort Boise and two murals along today's route represent that journey. The first is in Burley, ID, an agricultural town in the Upper Snake River Valley. The main crop there is, not surprisingly, potatoes.

Oregon Trail and Snake River  Elizabeth Lochrie, 1938 Burley, ID

Farther on down the trail is the small city of Buhl, which was a popular river crossing. Ferrying emigrants, freight, and the mail was an important source of revenue.

Snake River Ferry Richard Guy Walton, 1941

Buhl Post Office interior

Two more murals, in St. Anthony and Kellog will have to wait until I get back up north again. The Post Offices and murals in Idaho are well maintained. The same is not true in some states I have visited but for now kudos go to the Idahoans for preserving this important part of their history.

Post Office Art in Utah

Post Office Art in Utah

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My first experience with Post Office art happened in 2016 when I was exploring Helper, Utah, a historic mining town and transportation center in central Utah. From reading about the Great Depression I was aware that as part of The New Deal the federal government provided contractual work for artists along with its building programs. As the WPA began building new post offices around the country it awarded contracts to local artists to supply artwork that reflected the history of the region.

USPS Helper, UT

This public art provided, and continues to provide a sense of local pride in the communities where it exists and reflects the feeling of national pride these New Deal projects supported.

Western Town Jenne Magafan, 1941, oil on canvas,

Post Office interior Helper, UT

This painting in Beaver, Utah depicts mining, ranching, and Native Americans, reflecting the history of Central Utah.

USPS Beaver, UT

Life on the Plains 1943, John Beauchamp, oil on canvas, Beaver, Utah

There is one additional mural in Utah. It is Scenes of Early Provo by Edward Thorpe, 1942. Unfortunately the Post Office building where it is on display has been converted to a Social Security Office and the guard on duty would not let me photograph it although it can be viewed in the lobby. Maybe I can get a shot later when a more cooperative guard is on duty.

Old Post Office in Provo, UT

I have spent the last several years traveling around the American west, exploring historic trails which I have documented in my blog travelingoldtrails.blogspot.com During my journeys I have sought out Post Office lobby art in six other states and I will continue to add to this collection as I travel around the country. I hope you find this interesting and I would appreciate your comments.