What to do and see in Wyoming, United States: The Best Specialty Museums

Hours: Mar 1–Apr 30: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily May 1–Sep 15: 8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily. Sep 16–Oct 31: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily. Nov 1–30: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily. Dec 1–Feb 28: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday–Sunday. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days. Since 1927, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West has been committed to the greatness and growth of the American West, keeping western experiences alive. The Center of the West, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, weaves the varied threads of the western experience-history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms, and the nature and science of Yellowstone-into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center of the West has been honored with numerous awards, including TripAdvisor's Certificate of Excellence for four years running.

Stroll through history while viewing over a thousand of relic guns & other weapons from many different time periods and locations including “America’s War of Independence, The Gold Rush Era, The U.S. Civil War, The Old West & Indian Wars, World War I, The Roaring 20’s and World War II”. The museum is a proud sponsor of the Cody Gunfighter’s Show at the world famous Irma Hotel (just steps away from our museum!) We are members of the Cody Chamber of Commerce and enthusiastic supporters of Cody’s historical attractions. Open 9:am – 9:pm - 7 days a week from May through September.

The Carbon County Museum collects, conserves, interprets and disseminates regional history to inspire Carbon County cultural entities and all learners – today and tomorrow. The CCM has several exhibits and displays that celebrate the history and culture of the communities and natural habitat of this county. These topics include, among others, our Native American past, the role of the settlers as they came West, and the various technologies used in order to adapt to a harsh environment upon arrival. We also have on display one of the country’s largest exhibits devoted to the Union Pacific Railroad, which has been instrumental in the social and economic development of much of this region for over 150 years.

The Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center is dedicated to preserving and protecting the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains. A stop at the Mustang Center will give visitors information about the horses, their Spanish heritage, and best places to view the horses in their native Pryor Mountain home. The Mustang Center can help set you up with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the top of the mountain with PryorWild Mustang Tours.

You will find a 4,000 sq ft Relic Store combining antiques, handmade & Up-cycled items for sale. There is an $10 admission into the museum. Group, Service Profesionals (Military, Fire, Police, Teacher, ect) & Senior rates are $8. Children 12 & under FREE (Must be accompanied by an adult). In the back of the building you will find a 10,000 sq ft museum where we are preserving the history and nest-alga of early Americana, automotive & transportation industry. Lot's of oil & gas related decor, including 16 classic cars. We do love Hudson's so you will find a lot of Hudson memorabilia in the museum. Also included in the museum is a collection of many unique items that make up an old Main Street Town. A mining museum was added in May of 2019. This is a private collections started by Leon & Jeff Wandler. A stop that you can not miss!!

From the outside, this museum looks like a natural rock outcropping; inside this building lies some of the world's finest wildlife art.

The eighty year history of Wyoming’s first state penitentiary, now known as the Wyoming Frontier Prison, is as colorful and elaborate as the plot of a classic western movie. The cornerstone of the prison was laid in 1888, but due to funding issues and Wyoming’s notorious weather, the doors wouldn’t open for thirteen years. In December of 1901, the prison opened and consisted of 104 cells (Cell Block A), no electricity or running water, and very inadequate heating. Throughout the prison’s operation, approximately 13,500 people were incarcerated, including eleven women. Overcrowding was an almost constant concern, and the first of several additions to the penitentiary was completed in 1904, adding 32 cells to the west end of the original cell block (Cell Block A). Women were housed in the prison until 1909, until the last woman was transferred to Colorado. The addition of the second cell block (Cell Block B) in 1950 temporarily relieved the overcrowding, and also included solitary confinement cells, a much more efficient heating system, and hot running water which wouldn’t be installed in the original cell block for another twenty-eight years. A maximum security addition (Cell Block C) was completed in 1966, but the addition only included thirty-six cells and was reserved for serious discipline cases. The prison was equipped with several different means of disciplining inmates throughout its operation, including a dungeon, several variations of solitary confinement and a “punishment pole” to which men were handcuffed and whipped with rubber hoses. The prison also used different execution methods.. The first two executions were carried out using the “traveling” Julien Gallows which were used to hang Tom Horn in Cheyenne in 1903. In 1916, the penitentiary completed the addition of a “death house” which consisted of six cells to house inmates on death row, and a unique indoor version of the Julien Gallows. The building also housed the gas chamber when it was chosen to replace hanging as Wyoming’s execution method of choice in 1936. Ultimately 14 death sentences were carried out; nine men were hanged, and five were executed in the gas chamber by the use of hydrocyanic acid gas. The Wyoming Frontier Prison is a remnant of the grizzly past of the old west, but not every aspect of prison life was so off-putting. Over the 80-year operation, the prison produced goods to meet demands of four major industries. From 1901 through 1917 the prison had a broom factory, but inmates burned it down during a riot. The factory was rebuilt and operated as a shirt factory which brought in twice the revenue to the state. In 1934, a federal law was passed to prohibit the sale and transportation of prison manufactured goods from one state to another, which resulted in the loss of significant revenue when the factory closed. In 1935, the factory began operating as a woolen mill which won the “Navy E” in 1942 for the superior quality blankets produced by the prison for the military during World War II. In 1949 the prison changed production one last time, producing license plates until the penitentiary closed in 1981. After serving the state for eighty years, the prison closed its doors, and sat abandoned until 1987 when a low budget movie titled “Prison” was filmed on location. The movie was one of Viggo Mortensen’s first and featured several other well known actors. Significant damage was done to the prison grounds during filming because it had yet to be considered a historic site. In 1988, a joint powers board assumed ownership of the penitentiary, dubbed it The Wyoming Frontier Prison, and established it as a museum. The Wyoming Frontier Prison has since been listed on The National Registry of Historic Places, and offers tours to approximately 15,000 visitors annually.