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Welcome to Dixon, WYDixon, Wyoming is located on the Little Snake River Valley, the south central gateway to the Medicine Bow National Forest. This Wyoming Scenic Byway is a favorite route taken by travelers during the summer and fall months.Dixon is just west of the Continental Divide, and in the foothills of Wyoming’s Sierra Madre Mountains. The Little Snake River is the main tributary through the valley.Here in the Little Snake River Valley we live in the heart of a very diverse atmosphere with everything from forest to high plains desert. We are surrounded by beautiful mountain vistas and sweeping sage flats.Dixon has been around awhile. Wyoming was only a territory when the Town of Dixon was incorporated in July 1887. Currently we have a population of around 79. Our Town Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was built in 1911 for the Stock Growers Bank of Dixon. The Bank was NOT robbed by legendary Butch Cassidy, who used to visit the area regularly. A new Motel graces Dixon; it is the Dixon Motel (phone number, 307-383-2300), which is across the street from the infamous Dixon Club. Dixon currently has a U.S. Post Office, a senior center, an Episcopal Church, a town park, a Carbon County maintenance shop, and one bar, The Dixon Club.
WildlifeOne of the reasons why folks enjoy the Little Snake area so much is due to the fact that we have a wide range of wildlife species that inhabit our region. This list includes, but is not limited to elk, mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, ground squirrels, beavers, mink, fischers, badgers, muskrats and porcupines. We have had sightings of wild horses, wolverines, lynx, river otters, swift fox and wolves. And I could not forget some of our snakes, the brown water snake, and prairie rattle snake and the faded midget rattle snake (go Rattlers). Bird watching is also excellent in and around Dixon; we have song birds galore and migrating birds like the sand hill crane, whooping crane, egrets, geese, plovers, and ring necked doves. Their are quite a few raptors like golden and bald eagles, falcons, hawks, owls and osprey. And if you go walking around the Dixon area you may come upon sage grouse and prairie chickens, they let you know they are there by making a loud noise flying up and away.Great fishing here as well! To name just a few; colorful brook trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. The local flora in and around Dixon consists of sagebrush, rabbit brush, cedar trees, juniper, cottonwood trees, aspen trees, lodge pole pine, blue spruce, ponderosa trees and of course open fields of grass hay and alfalfa.
Activities & InterestsThere are many places of interest here in the Little Snake River Valley: Butch Cassidy’s Cabin, The Overland Trail, wild horse tours, archeological sights, and numerous Indian artifacts; to name only a few of the highlights in our area.
We have a wonderful museum, the Little Snake River Museum, just down the road in Savery (go to our link page for their info). Depending on the time of year you can expect to be stuck in traffic, BEHIND a herd of cows being moved to or from pasture or a flock of sheep doing the same. The Little Snake River Valley Rodeo is held yearly East of Dixon in the Russell Community Park Arena. The Lions Club Rodeo has been an annual event for more than 50 years. The arena is used regularly for roping and other events. Next door to the arena is the Dixon Air patch, 9U4. This is open to the public. The elevation is 6,520 feet and the longest runway is 7,500 feet. Dixon and the surrounding Little Snake River area are known for it's outdoor recreation, such as fishing, hunting, camping, roping, snow machining and four wheeling. Some of the mellower pastimes are hiking, snow shoeing, cross county skiing, bird watching, fossil hunting, arrowhead and artifact hunting (make sure you know what you can and can not remove by contacting BLM in Wyoming at 307-775-6256). HistoryDixon is named for Bob Dixon who was one of the regions first white trappers along with Jim Baker (1818–1898), who is considered one of the greatest trappers, scouts and Indian fighters of all time. Jim Baker’s descendants still live in Dixon. Dixon at one time had a poor farm and the barn is still standing on private ground, but can be seen from Wyoming State Highway 70.
How Old is DixonThe state of Wyoming currently has 99 municipalities. So where does Dixon rate in the age list? According to the Wyoming Municipal Directory 2009 published by the Wyoming Association of Muncipalities, Dixon is the 6th oldest town in the state and the 2nd oldest town in Carbon County. This age is based upon the dates of incorporation. Dixon was incorporated on July 21, 1887. Prior to this only Laramie, Cheyenne, Buffalo, Chugwater, and Rawlins had been incorporated. Later in 1887 both Douglas and Sundance were also incorporated.
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