Evansville was a result of the Homestead Law which allowed the Government to grant public land free or at low cost to settlers
who would live on the land and make it productive. W.T. Evans, an English immigrant who came to this country in 1882.
He settled at the present town site in 1902, making it into a prosperous ranch. His homestead still stands in Evansville.
During the oil boom years of 1918 to 1920, part of the ranch was sold to the Socony-Mobil and Texas Oil companies. This
move brought families into the area seeking employment at the refineries. Mr. Evans had the town surveyed and platted in 1921.
The streets were named after pioneers of the community and the various ores found in the mountain area to the south. The Town
of Evansville was incorporated May 15th, 1923.
The Town of Evansville, three miles east of Casper, started growing. The sale of Evansville town lots was commenced in March,
1922, and on August 10, 1922, the entire 222 lots had been sold, with the exception of one. The prospects for the town to
expand soon became so encouraging that the land north of the original town site was platted and put on the market.
The tracks of the Burlington and Northwestern railways passed immediately by the town. Each of these railway companies had
promised that passenger and freight depots would soon be erected. A number of store buildings, apartment houses, and dwelling
houses were completed during the summer and fall of 1922. The Baptist Church was also built late in the fall. This church
building was equipped with school furniture, and on January 1, 1923, school was opened with an enrollment of twenty pupils.
At the beginning of 1923, Evansville had an estimated population of 150. There were about sixty dwelling houses, a filling station
grocery store combined, a garage, pool halls, restaurants, a furniture and hardware store, a barber shop, and a lumber yard.
The Town also had a volunteer fire department.
From its beginnings in 1923, Evansville has grown to 2252 people according to the 2000 census. Evansville is located directly to
the north and east of the second largest city in Wyoming. It is part of the Casper Metro Area, which offers access to Wyoming's
largest airport, as well as the conveniences and the facilities offered by a larger city. |
