Welcome to the Hanna Basin Museum Website

The best way to locate information on this website is to ​use the search box and subject tabs at the top of this page.
The purpose of this website is to help others connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing historical information about Wyoming's Hanna Basin. We invite you to explore how the Hanna Basin
​ came to be and how it touched the lives of many.
Created: August 1,  2010
​Last Updated: June 10, 2021
- Over ​Ten Years of Sharing -
Website Provided by Bob Leathers​ ​in cooperation with the Hanna Basin Historical Society
Website contact information: HannaBasinMuseum@gmail.com (Attention: Bob)​​​

This Month in Hanna Basin History

One hundred and eighteen years ago this month - June 30, 1903 -
​the Union Pacific Coal Company's No. 1 Mine in Hanna exploded killing 169 Miners
Picture
Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No 1 Mine (Wyoming State Archives)
June 30, 1903, the Union Pacific Coal Company’s No. 1 mine in Hanna exploded, killing 169 men.
The Union Pacific Coal Company’s No. 1 Mine in Hanna was the only mine to explode in Hanna and it did so four different times in its short history. The first explosion occurred in April of 1890, killing one miner, Henry Ward. The second explosion happened June 30, 1903 killing 169 men and the third and fourth explosions would come on the same day March 28, 1908, killing an additional 59 miners.  The No. 1 mine killed 229 miners in the four explosions. Many other men were killed in the No. 1 mine from other types of accidents.
 ​
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May and June - Time to Gather and Brand Cattle in Wyoming (Image by Bob Leathers)
June and May:
  • Time to gather and brand cattle in both the North and South Country. 
1868 June 30:
1889 June 2:​
  • Butch Cassidy [Robert Leroy Parker] and the Sundance Kid [Harry Longbaugh] along with the rest of the Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 a few miles east of Old Carbon and Hanna at Wilcox, Wyoming. 
1890 June 19:
  • A fierce fire broke out in Carbon Wyoming and burned most of the business district to the ground.  A few reports indicate the fire started in the Scranton House hotel where a guest knocked over a kerosene lamp. The fire fighters even tried dynamiting a few buildings in hopes of stopping the fire from spreading, but their efforts were not successful. Immediately after the fire, the people and businesses started rebuilding the town and new laws and ordinances were passed to help avoid such a thing from happening again.
1902 June: 
  • ​All the mines at Carbon, Wyoming were abandoned. The salvageable mining equipment was removed from the mines and moved or sold to other mines in the area. The coal chutes for fueling trains were torn down. The railroad track from Carbon to the No. 7 Sand Creek mine was taken up and moved elsewhere. 
1905 June 13:
1940, June 14: 
  • The German army entered and occupied Paris, France during World War II.
1950 June 25:
  • The Korean War began. North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of border clashes. The United Nations, with the United States as the primary force, came to the aid of South Korea. China and the Soviet Union came to the aid of North Korea. Some Hanna Men fought in the war. 
HANNA BASIN MUSEUM AND CUMMINGS/CRAWFORD COTTAGE 
Sunshine Solaas, Museum Director
​Mike Armstrong, Public Relations Director
April Avery, Museum Staff
Contact the staff at: hannamuseum1889@gmail.com
Picture
Cummings - Crawford Cottage and Hanna Basin Museum (Image by by Bob Leathers - Hanna Basin Museum Website)
Hanna Basin Museum and Historical Society
P.O. Box 252
502 Front Street, Hanna WY 82327
​(307) 325-6465
​
Summer Hours: Friday - Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 PM    Winter Hours: Saturday 1:00 to 5:00 PM
Summer hours start with Memorial Day and end with Labor Day.​

Video and Images - At the Museum
Sunshine Solaas at the Museum
More at: Museum Images - Come On In For a Visit
Charlee Solaas at the Museum
More at - The Hanna Amusement Hall - Love's
  • Fact Check: If you see something on this website that doesn't look accurate or fair, even a typo, please contact Bob at HannaBasinMuseum@gmail.com.

What's New or Updated on the Website?

June 2021

Updated June 11, 2021:
New June 6, 2021:

May 2021

New May 25, 2021: Many, many, many additions and changes to the entire page. 

The Hanna Miner - A Slideshow

Video from Bob Leathers - Hanna Basin Museum Website
Music by The O'Neill Brothers Group - Instrumental Country Guitar: Coal Miner's Daughter

Website Guidelines

Thank you to all the individuals and families around the world that have contributed amazing information and images to this website. Their generous contributions have greatly enhance our understanding of the people and events that occurred in the Hanna Basin.
  • Our goal is to honor the history of the Hanna Basin by providing detailed and accurate information.
  • We welcome comments and documented corrections to the content on this website. 
  • We also welcome any pictures, documents or information from our readers that might be helpful in our telling the Hanna Basin story. 
  • Sources all over the world send information, documents and images to the Hanna Basin Museum Website for its use. The Hanna Basin Museum Website does not knowingly use any copyrighted material. We welcome the reporting of any possible copyright infringements. Every effort will be made to correct all copyright conflicts that may arise.
  • Individuals wishing to use documents or images from this website must first receive permission from the Hanna Basin Museum Website. Please contact us at HannaBasinMuseum@gmail.com (Attention: Bob)