Located along Interstate 25 with incredible views of the Bighorn Mountain Range, Kaycee is rich with history. The community is a quick drive via interstate, just 30 minutes south of Buffalo. The town emerged during some of the wildest of Wyoming’s history — and even today, Kaycee likes to boast that they are a true Wild West town, with characters that may have walked right out of the 1800s.
In 1834, long before Kaycee was a town, a Portuguese man named Antonio Montero, funded by Captain William C. Bonneville, built Fort Antonio for the purpose of trading with the Native Americans east of Kaycee on the Powder River. It was one of the earliest structures built by people of European descent in the state of Wyoming. In 1859, Captain Raynolds with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers passed through on an expedition to map the area and ascertain its features and resources. Missionary Father DeSmet also passed through the area, as did a group of German Lutheran Missionaries. They built a Mission Station on the Powder River in 1859, but left the area after their leader was killed by Native Americans.
A few years later, in 1863, John Bozeman mapped a route east of Kaycee from the Oregon Trail to the gold fields of Montana. Travelers were under almost constant attack, so the “bloody” Bozeman Trail was only used by a few wagon trains for a short time. Fort Reno, built along the trail to protect travelers, was abandoned in 1868 and the entire area ceded to the Indians. However, the fort was reopened in a new location during the renewed campaign against the Indians in 1876. In November that year, a village of Cheyenne Indians was surprised by U.S. troops on the Red Fork of the Powder River west of Kaycee and routed in the cold. The Dull Knife Battle resulted in the Indians being forced to flee across the mountain without supplies, and by spring many surrendered to the reservation.
Finally, the passing-through days ended, and the settling began in earnest. The Town of Kaycee began as the site of the KC Ranch, on the Middle Fork of the Powder River where Moreton Frewen’s 76 Ranch built a line shack for cowboys. When the Frewen and the 76 Ranch went out of business, John Nolen took over the cabin and made it the site of his homestead. It was a good location, near the bridge for crossing the river and where the road from all four directions came together. Nolen put the KC brand on his cattle, which he may have rustled, and helped the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang elude the law at the turn of the century.
The KC cabin site is more famous for the April 9, 1892, battle that took place between cowboy Nathan D. Champion, in the cabin, and 50 armed men known as the Invaders who surrounded it during the Johnson County War. After holding off the men an entire day, Champion was forced out and gunned down when the cabin was set on fire. While the Invaders were ultimately forced to surrender at the TA Ranch north of Kaycee by hundreds of angry county citizens, the Invaders escaped justice.
John Nolen rebuilt his cabin closer to the river, and sold pieces of his ranch to those who wanted to settle in the area. One of the first was Jesse Potts. He built a blacksmith shop along the road, across the river from Nolen. As more people settled in the area stores, banks, hotels, a flour mill, and residences were all built at the turn of the century. While many of these building lasted almost a century, most were lost in the Flood of 2002, which swept through the town of Kaycee.
Kaycee is also famous for its rodeo champions and singer Chris LeDoux, who is commemorated with a large bronze at Chris LeDoux Park in downtown Kaycee.
Although the population of Kaycee remains small today, the town is still going strong. There is a local agricultural base, and many residents also work in the energy industry. Residents are proud of their history and the sense of community that continues today.
This museum is housed in a historic 1897 building in downtown Kaycee. It has artifacts and displays from Native Americans, an 1834 Fort Antonio Trading Post, the Bozeman Trail, Fort Reno, the Johnson County War, Hole in the Wall Outlaws, and more. Museum grounds also include the original Kaycee school, jail, a homestead cabin built from Frewen Castle logs, a century old chuckwagon, and more. The museum also offers annual tours and visitor information.
Famous country music singer and rodeo champion Chris LeDoux lived on a ranch outside Kaycee before and after he was famous. He died young from cancer, and a memorial park in downtown Kaycee was built in his honor.
In 1892, 50 armed men attacked the KC Cabin homestead. Their goal was to kill Nathan Champion and continue their killing spree of “rustlers” afterwards. However, Champion’s skill and bravery held them off long enough for word to get out of the attack before he was gunned down fleeing the burning cabin. Look over the field where this momentous event of the Johnson County War occurred and learn more with a stop at the museum.
Just 30 minutes west of Kaycee, you will encounter the beautiful Red Wall and Hole in the Wall valley laid out before the southern end of the Bighorn Mountains. This scene is where outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, among others, hid from the law in the 1890s. Make your way into the valley and to Outlaw Canyon. This dramatic canyon on the face of Barnum Mountain has fishing, hiking, camping, and Outlaw Cave all for you to explore.
Hoofprints of the Past Museum
Hole in the Wall Valley and Outlaw Canyon
Invasion Bar
Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum
Historic Occidental Hotel & Saloon
Hoofprints of the Past Museum
KC Cabin Site
Tisdale Murder Site
TA Ranch
Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum
Fort Caspar Museum (Casper, Wyoming)
Hoofprints of the Past Museum
Fort Reno
Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum
Fort Phil Kearney State Historic Site (Fetterman Fight Site)
Little Bighorn Battlefield (Crow Agency, Montana)
Hoofprints of the Past Museum
Chris Ledoux Park
“Just LeDoux It” whiskey tasting at the Invasion Bar and Restaurant
Kaycee Rodeo Night
