Hours: Closed until March 3, 2026
Join us at the Meeteetse Museums on April 2, 2026, at 2:00 for a presentation by Park County Archivist Robyn Cutter. This talk explores the history of mail-order brides in the American West. Robyn previously gave this talk in Cody in February 2026.
Drawing from historical records and archival research, Cutter will examine how the phenomenon of mail-order brides emerged in the American West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the gold rush and westward expansion brought large numbers of men across the Rocky Mountains to mining camps and developing towns, women were vastly outnumbered. While only a few prospectors found great wealth, many men stayed in the region to ranch, farm, hunt, mine, or open businesses, creating the foundation for permanent communities.
As these towns grew, the desire to establish families and stable communities increased. Cutter’s presentation will discuss how single women from the eastern United States were encouraged to travel west to marry, the circumstances that led to these arrangements, and the realities these women faced as they began new lives in unfamiliar and often challenging environments.
