Evanston, Wyoming - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

EVANSTON, 70.6 m. (6,748 alt., 7,000 pop.), is the center of a farming and dairying area. It has comfortable houses, well-kept lawns, parks, and gardens, and many shade trees. Most of its business places are along the south side of Front Street, facing the Union Pacific station and tracks.

In winter, farmers from the upper Bear River Valley put away their wheeled rigs and drive into Evanston in bobsleds. At Christmas time, the Three Wise Men, their camels, and the Star of Bethlehem are outlined in electric lights on a snowy hill east of the city.

Harvey Booth, first settler, pitched a tent on the site of Evanston, November 23, 1868, and opened a restaurant, saloon, and hotel. In December the railroad arrived and with it came more than 600 people. 'Raghouses' of canvas and wood were hurriedly built, but soon the railroad decided to move division headquarters to Wasatch, Utah, 12 miles west; 24 hours later only two persons remained in Evanston. Headquarters came back the following June, and the town settled down. The first public school opened in 1870; on September 6, 1870 Uinta County voted to make Evanston its seat.

I had to laugh when I first read this excerpt because in Evanston "farmers" and "dairying" are spurned. There are not any farmers in Evanston, but there are a lot of Ranchers who'd feel very insulted if you called them a farmer.

In the late 1970's and early 1980's Evanston experienced its second boom when oil and natural gas reserves were discovered in the region. The town grew from about 5,000 to 15,000 in a few years and the population remains around 15,000.

There is still a quaint little downtown area on Front Street facing the depot, but passenger service doesn't stop at the depot anymore. Instead the Depot and its surrounding buildings have been turned into a downtown park that is absolutely beautiful. The building has been restored and is now rented for events.

The business in the downtown core have struggled since Walmart and strip malls went up on the edge of town. However, the city is fighting the good fight to preserve its historic buildings and attempt to attract business back into downtown. Currently restoration is taking place at the Railroad Complex at the end of Front street. The town's roundhouse is being restored and the hope is to turn it into the City offices. The complex's machine shop has already been beautifully restored and is rented for events.