MANDERSON TOWN & CEMETERY

Big Horn County, Wyoming

N 44 15.774    W 107 56.918

Manderson was originally called Alamo and was renamed in 1889 by railroad officials for Manderson, chief counsel for the Burlington Railroad.  As is the case in many very small, rural Wyoming towns, if you are visiting on a Sunday afternoon, carry your own candy bars.  The only thing open in the way of food is the outdoor soft drink machine, and it may be empty (or you will have no quarters.)  If it is a weekday, the Highway Bar and Cafe is a good place.  Look for signs such as:  “Eat American lamb, 10 million coyotes can’t be wrong.”   The heaviest traffic in town may come from the power pole meter-reader.  Highway signs and markers are for two purposes:  One, to give identification and  direction to travelers and Two, to serve as targets for local shooters.  There are some good marksmen in the Manderson area.

There are two cemeteries at Manderson.

The first cemetery is located .9 mile east of the center of town on Highway 20 South toward Worland.  It is on the north side of the road, and is visible from the highway.  It overlooks the river and the Worland valley.  It is fenced and has a good gate, but visitors have been pushing the wire down instead of entering by the gate.  Thus animals are getting in from time to time.  This is a good-sized area for the number of people resting here.  Bald Eagles cruise the river and a beautiful little group of Hungarian Partridge have taken up residence among the tombstones.

The second Manderson Cemetery, I will call the:

Smith Plot

Manderson, Big Horn County, Wyoming

N 44 16.847    W 107 57.882

It is located approximately one mile from town on the highway 31 toward Hyattville.  Cross Nowood Creek and take the very first left across the cattle guard.  Drive up the hill between the sawmill and the river, on the southwest edge of the sawmill.  The cemetery is sitting on private property in the open, completely unprotected.  The geese overhead are noisy.  There are 12-13 graves marked here, but only 7 have stones.

A few of the records listed here were taken from dates gathered by an unknown researcher.  I assume it was done in the early 50’s.  At that time, there were 37 unknowns in the cemeteries.  This person’s records were taken from sources other than or in addition to the existing tombstones.  To this record I have included my own observations and additions.  If there are duplications, they are unexplained.  A possible good source of information could be gained from the Atwood Funeral Home in Basin, Wyoming.

To access the tombstone information for this cemetery, click on the navigation button above.