Thermopolis was named in 1895 by Dr. Julius A. Schuelke. Doctor Schulke was a pioneer German physician who was one of the first to recognize the value of medicinal qualities of the mineral waters. When we speak of Thermopolis we naturally think of Thermos as meaning heat. The city was named after the Pass of Thermopylae, famed in Greek history as the Spartan battle ground. The word is combined from the Greek derivative which is literally translated "City of Hot Mineral Baths." (WPA) Named by Dr. Julious Shulke and Joe McGill, the latter a student of languages, for its proximity to the hot springs and taken from the Greek words therme and polis meaning "heat and city." (Annals of Wyoming 15:1)Thermopolis Post Office was established as Torrey Post Office on July 24,1888 in Fremont County prior to the formation of Hot Springs County. On January 9, 1895 the name was changed to Thermopolis. Edward C. Enderly was the postmaster. (Wyoming Post Offices) An incorporated city and thriving town in Fremont County, 60 miles northeast from Lander. Located in a beautiful valley on the Big Horn River and surrounded by the Big Horn and Owl Creek Mountains. Stockraising and farming are the principal industries. The Big Horn Hot Springs are about one mile from Thermopolis. The square mile of land on which the springs are situated belongs to the state, and is know as the Wyoming Hot Springs Reserve. ... Thermopolis has an electric light plan, water works, good churches and schools and all requirements of a modern city. (Wyoming State Business Directory, 1910-11) Thermopolis, the county seat of Hot Springs County, Wyoming, has a population of 3,000 which includes the State Reserve where the Big Horn mineral hot springs are located, just across the Big Horn river. The town is located in a natural bowl of the Rocky Mountains and the climate is uniform, the winters not severe and the summer months not hot. ... Thermopolis is located on the Main line of the Burlington Route, with thru trains from Omaha and Denveron the Yellowstone and Buffalo highways passing to the west and connecting at Cody with the federal highway entering Yellowstone National Park from the eastat the south with the Lincoln highway at Cheyenne. Virtually every highway of importance from the east and south to Yellowstone park and the west passes thru Thermopolis. (Wyoming State Business Directory, 1922) What is known as Old Thermopolis was started at the mouth of Owl Creek on the west bank of the Big Horn River in the early 1890's. In 1896, after negotiations with the Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribes, the United States purchased the nearby Big Horn Hot Springs. Soon after the transaction was completed, the town was moved in 1897 from the mouth of Owl Creek to its present location. (Wasden)
Other Names:
Hot City, Torrey, Hot Springs, Old Town, Old Thermopolis
County:
Hot Springs
Feature Category:
Manmade Features
History:
Thermopolis Post Office was established as Torrey Post Office on July 24,1888 in Fremont County prior to the formation of Hot Springs County. On January 9, 1895 the name was changed to Thermopolis. Edward C. Enderly was the postmaster. (Wyoming Post Offices) An incorporated city and thriving town in Fremont County, 60 miles northeast from Lander. Located in a beautiful valley on the Big Horn River and surrounded by the Big Horn and Owl Creek Mountains. Stockraising and farming are the principal industries. The Big Horn Hot Springs are about one mile from Thermopolis. The square mile of land on which the springs are situated belongs to the state, and is know as the Wyoming Hot Springs Reserve. ... Thermopolis has an electric light plan, water works, good churches and schools and all requirements of a modern city. (Wyoming State Business Directory, 1910-11) Thermopolis, the county seat of Hot Springs County, Wyoming, has a population of 3,000 which includes the State Reserve where the Big Horn mineral hot springs are located, just across the Big Horn river. The town is located in a natural bowl of the Rocky Mountains and the climate is uniform, the winters not severe and the summer months not hot. ... Thermopolis is located on the Main line of the Burlington Route, with thru trains from Omaha and Denver; on the Yellowstone and Buffalo highways passing to the west and connecting at Cody with the federal highway entering Yellowstone National Park from the east; at the south with the Lincoln highway at Cheyenne. Virtually every highway of importance from the east and south to Yellowstone park and the west passes thru Thermopolis. (Wyoming State Business Directory, 1922) What is known as Old Thermopolis was started at the mouth of Owl Creek on the west bank of the Big Horn River in the early 1890's. In 1896, after negotiations with the Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribes, the United States purchased the nearby Big Horn Hot Springs. Soon after the transaction was completed, the town was moved in 1897 from the mouth of Owl Creek to its present location. (Wasden)
