The town of Byron was settled by a group of Mormons from Utah and Idaho, sent to Wyoming to build the Sidon Canal. This canal was the project which made settlement of Wyoming's Big Horn Basin possible by supplying irrigation water to the basin from the Shoshone River. Settlers arrived in the basin in 1900, immediately establishing the towns of Byron and Cowley and moving into the existing settlement of Lovell. It was not long until natural gas was discovered near Byron, followed by oil.
The first water tower in Byron was likely erected in the 1910s, or thereabouts. We know it was an old style tower supported by four steel legs. It served the town through much of the twentieth century, being replaced by the present water tower sometime near the end of the century. It seems that all the towns in the area received new water towers around the same time. Comparing this tower with others of known size, we'd guess this one to have a capacity of about 200,000 gallons. It stands near the northwest corner of the town, just to the southwest of the town park.
In 1905, one of the neighbors named Smith, strolled over to visit Jones. On the way, he smelled an odor not familiar to him..."You don't suppose it is gas, do you?" said Jones. "I dunno," replied Smith. Jones and Smith and a couple of Jones' sons went to find out. They dug a hole a few feet deep and someone struck a match over the hole and the results were immediate and startling. The gas ignited with a bang and Smith's whiskers were singed. A pipe was placed in the hole and dirt tamped around it to make a conductor for the gas to come from the gravel from which it had be escaping, for no one knows how long. The gas was allowed to burn at the top of the pipe and become the wonder of all the pioneer settlers, who came from miles around to view this wonder.
From a plaque in Memorial Park
TOWN OF BYRON
A small town located between two beautiful mountain ranges, it is bordered to the south by the Shoshone River and the oil rich Sand Hills to the north. A short drive away from the Big Horn Reservoir & surrounded by miles of farm land. Byron is truly a great place to live for those who choose to enjoy Wyoming living at its best!
Byron was settled by a group of Mormon pioneers on May 22, 1900. The town was named in honor Byron Sessions, a man who was the General Manager of the Sidon Canal Construction Company. It was irrigation water from the canal they constructed that turned this area into the fertile farmland it is today.
The Town of Byron was incorporated on June 7, 1910. Today, Byron is surrounded by thousands of acres of irrigated farmlands and vast oil fields.
From the Town of Byron