🏙️ Interesting & Surprising Facts About Casper’s Past :

🖋️ Casper is Named After a Typo
The town was named after Fort Caspar, which honored Lt. Caspar Collins. Somewhere along the line, someone wrote it down wrong—and the typo stuck forever. 📝🤷‍♀️

🪦 Lt. Caspar Collins Died in a Massacre Defending the Fort
The town's namesake was only 20 years old when he died trying to protect soldiers from a Lakota ambush. He rode straight into the fight knowing he might not make it out. 🐎💔

💨 A 1949 Blizzard Shut Down Everything—For Weeks
The storm was so brutal that tunnels had to be dug through the snow to move food and supplies. People used ropes to find their way between buildings. 🥶❄️

🦖 A Basement Dig Turned Up Dinosaur Bones
In the '20s, someone was digging a foundation for their home when they struck prehistoric gold. Scientists took over—and parts of that dinosaur are now at the Tate Museum. 🦴🏠

🔥 A Murderer Burned Down the Whole Jail to Escape
In the early 1900s, a prisoner set fire to the wooden jail and escaped into the night. The jail burned to the ground. Legend says he was never caught. 🚓🔥

🎓 Casper College’s First Campus Was a Barn
When the college opened in 1945, there weren’t enough buildings—so students learned biology next to hay bales and maybe a cow or two. 🎓🐄

📻 KTWO Was One of the First Stations to Broadcast Nuclear Warnings
During the Cold War, Casper’s KTWO Radio was selected to issue alerts in the event of a nuclear attack. Thankfully, it never had to. 😬📡

🐴 During the Great Depression, Cowboys Became Taxis
For a nickel, a local cowboy would give you a lift across town—on horseback. Uber, but dustier and with more sass. 🐎💵

🕳️ The Wind Once Blew a Manhole Cover 50 Feet in the Air
Casper’s wind is not a joke. One gust reportedly launched a manhole lid like a frisbee. It landed safely… in someone’s yard. 💨🌀

🧼 People Made Soap Out of Animal Bones
During WWII, soap was in short supply. Casper locals made their own from bones and fat—and traded it like gold. It worked… mostly. 🧼🦴

🎳 Our First Bowling Alley Had Live Piano and Cigarettes With Your Shoes
When Casper’s first bowling lanes opened, you’d get your shoes, a smoke, and a song. It was glamorously weird. 🎹🎳🚬

🧊 North Platte River Was Once the Town’s Fridge
Before electricity, folks would cut blocks of ice from the frozen river and store them in sawdust to use all summer. Nature’s freezer! 🧊🪓