Sinclair is a town in Carbon County,

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, United States.

History

The town was originally called Parco, after the Producers & Refiners Corporation (or PARCO) which founded the refinery and the

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

. It was renamed Sinclair after PARCO was acquired during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation Sinclair Oil Corporation was an American petroleum corporation founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916. The Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation amalgamated the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sin ...

. The original refinery, located just east of town, remains in use to this day. Sinclair's population was 433 at the 2010 census. The town was built as a planned community in 1924–1925, designed by Denver architects Fisher & Fisher in a

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

style. The historic center of town was designated the

Parco Historic District The Parco Historic District, also known as the Sinclair Historic District, comprises the center of Sinclair, Wyoming, originally known as Parco, surrounding the Parco Inn. The district includes 93 buildings, of which 49 are considered to be c ...

in 1987. with Just six miles east of Sinclair is the ghost town site of Benton, Wyoming at milepost 672.1 of the Union Pacific Railroad. As the terminal of the railroad at the time, Benton had a colorful three-month history which ended in September 1868 with a visit from Republican presidential candidate

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and the departure of the final overland wagon trains on the

Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail is the route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) traveled from 1846 to 1869. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails Syst ...

headed for the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...

before completion of the railroad the following year. Three miles east of the Benton site is

Fort Fred Steele State Historic Site Fort Steele, also known as Fort Fred Steele, was established to protect the newly built Union Pacific Railroad from attacks by Native Americans during construction of the transcontinental railroad in the United States. The fort was built in 1868 ...

. The original Ft. Steele was named for

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Union General

Frederick Steele Major General Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was an American military officer who served in the Army in the Mexican-American War, Yuma War, and American Civil War. He is most noted for capturing the Arkansas state capi ...

and established June 20, 1868, to protect the Union Pacific Railway as it rapidly expanded west. The fort was deactivated August 7, 1886, and most of the buildings at the fort were sold and moved to the settlement which had grown up around the fort and other locations. The small community continued until 1939 when the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

was paved and rerouted to coincide with what later became

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

. In 1940, following the short-lived Supreme Court decision ''

Minersville School District v. Gobitis ''Minersville School District v. Gobitis'', 310 U.S. 586 (1940), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States restricting the religious rights of public school students under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ...

'', residents tarred and feathered the town's Jehovah's Witnesses. The

Wyoming State Legislature The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 62-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 31-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the ...

preserved what remained in 1973 with creation of the state historical site.

Geography

Sinclair is located at (41.780782, –107.116826). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 433 people, 170 households, and 123 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 198 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. There were 170 households, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.6% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the town was 39.5 years. 24.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 52.2% male and 47.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 424 people, 168 households, and 115 families living in the town. The

was 174.0 people per square mile (67.2/km²). There were 211 housing units at an average density of 86.8 per square mile (33.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.22%

, 0.47%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.42% Native American, 0.95% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population. There were 168 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $48,214, and the median income for a family was $54,688. Males had a median income of $36,875 versus $26,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $22,384. About 1.7% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the town of Sinclair is provided by Carbon County School District #1. Zoned campuses include Rawlins Elementary School (grades K–5), Rawlins Middle School (grades 6–8), and Rawlins High School (grades 9–12). Sinclair has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Carbon County Library System.

References

{{authority control Towns in Carbon County, Wyoming Towns in Wyoming Sinclair Oil Corporation Company towns in Wyoming Populated places established in 1868