Dubois is a town steeped in history. The ancient Mountain Shoshone who lived here first left no written records, but many tantalizing traces remain like mysterious petroglyphs, fantastic rock art images carved with great effort and skill by unknown hands, hunters’ blinds and sheep traps constructed with fallen limbs and branches, were used to capture the bighorn sheep which were a major part of their diet. In the badlands lies a collection of teepee rings, and stone circles that once supported their dwellings.
Ancient History
Recent History
From its early days as a trading post on the Oregon Trail to its role in the development of the Old West, our town preserves its heritage with pride.
Butch Cassidy walked and rode these streets. He owned a ranch property north of town, shopped at Welty’s General Store, and utilized, but never robbed, the old red stone bank. Some local guides identify structures in the woods as hideouts for the Hole in the Wall gang. A few old-timers have insisted that they saw and spoke with Butch here after he was reportedly killed in South America.
Dubois is…
The town of Dubois was incorporated in 1914. In the same year, Wyoming Tie and Timber Company opened log milling operations here, eventually becoming the nation’s largest source of railroad ties. The “tie hack” operations ended in 1949, after which Louisiana Pacific operated a sawmill in town until 1988.
Today the valley’s original attractions for its settlers — ranching, lumbering, and respite or adventure for people who want a break in the mountains or an authentic Western experience — remain central to the character of Dubois.