If you want to explore the stories and ideas that shape us, look no further than Shell and Encampment, Wyoming.
With generous funding made possible by an appropriation of the Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Humanities provided grants to these towns last year for programs one would expect to find in larger cities.
These picturesque towns already have broad horizons, but community members decided to broaden them even further.
Shell, located at the northern edge of Wyoming, and Encampment, at the southern edge, are sparsely populated. A little more than eighty people live in Shell, and a little less than 450 live in Encampment. However, population is not an indicator of the richness of heritage and the thirst for connection in these tiny towns.
Wyoming Humanities provided a small grant, less than two thousand dollars, to the Big Horn County Citizens for Economic Development for an inaugural humanities workshop. The Trappers Creek Workshop and Lecture Series connected farmers, ranchers, retirees, creatives, and scholars of the Big Horn Basin to their place globally. The Shell lecture series included workshops on developing film and video projects, interview techniques with historic ranching families, and nature journaling with watercolors.
The Trappers Creek Workshop and Lecture series will continue again this summer with another grant from Wyoming Humanities. It will include workshops exploring the Wyoming ethos of independence, caring for neighbors, telling tales, and preserving family histories.
In Encampment, the Grand Encampment Museum hosted a film series called “Filming the West.” One of the many films screened was The Treasure of Hidden Valley, produced in 1976 by Encampment residents to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial. Filming the West also featured Battle of the Red Buttes, written and co-produced by Wyoming historian and journalist Candy Moulton, and Who She Is, a film by the Lander production company Caldera about missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Larry Hicks wrote the grant “speaks very highly of the work by the museum and Wyoming Humanities insight into the value of promoting and protecting our western history and the culture and customs that define us as Westerners.”
While we often hear about the importance of broadband and digital connectivity, the heart of a thriving community lies in the personal and emotional bonds we build. Living in a rural area comes with unique challenges, including isolation. Strong human connections can be a lifeline, providing emotional support and a sense of belonging.
At Wyoming Humanities, we believe that human connection is the heart of rural life. By nurturing relationships and embracing our shared stories, we create a future where everyone feels valued, supported, and connected to the rich tapestry of Wyoming’s past, present, and future.
Wyoming Humanities is proud to support the programs and projects that bring the humanities to life in our rural towns. By engaging in the humanities, we strengthen individual communities and the fabric of Wyoming itself. In every story shared, every lesson learned, and every connection made, the humanities remind us that no place is too small to make a significant impact on our collective understanding of what it means to be human.