Wright is a town in Campbell 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. The population was 1,644 at the 2020 census.

History

Ten thousand years ago, the first people came to the high plains to hunt buffalo and antelope. In more recent times, the Sioux and Crow claimed this area as their hunting grounds. In the 1880s, ranchers came to graze long horn cattle and sheep on the open range. They were followed by homesteaders lured by the promise of free land. Official settlement began in the area in the early 1900s but boomed in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the

Powder River Basin The Powder River Basin is a geologic structural basin in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its extensive coal reserves. The former hunting grounds of the Oglala Lakota, the area is very ...

and most productive mine in the United States. The Wright family homesteaded the area in 1911 creating the Wright Community. Shortly after moving to the area, R. A. Wright opened Wright's first Post Office providing mail service to area ranchers. The community became known as Wright, Wyoming. In 1976, during the economic boom led by Amax Coal, Black Thunder coal mine was developed near town. As with all energy towns, housing, schools, and essential services were needed. And like other coal mining regions, the Atlantic Richfield coal company stepped up and built the newly organized community, developing housing and a company store. The Town of Wright was incorporated in 1985, making it one of Wyoming's newest municipalities with a rich history. By 1990, Wright was a well-established community with a population of 1,236 people. On August 12, 2005, an F2 rated tornado struck a mobile home park at Wright, destroying 91 homes, damaging others, and killing two people. Around that time, the residents there proposed a split from Campbell County.

Geography

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 1,807 people, 685 households, and 476 families residing 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 813 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.5%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 1.4%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.2% Asian, 1.8% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 2.0% 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 6.2% of the population. There were 685 households, of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.5% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age in the town was 32.8 years. 30.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.7% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 2.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 55.0% male and 45.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,347 people, 475 households, and 388 families residing in the town. The

was 490.0 people per square mile (189.1/km²). There were 544 housing units at an average density of 197.9 per square mile (76.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.62%

, 0.45%

, 0.07% Asian, 0.82% from

, and 1.04% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.30% of the population. There were 475 households, out of which 48.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were

living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.15. In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,125, and the median income for a family was $55,764. Males had a median income of $46,058 versus $22,955 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 $20,126. About 3.9% of families and 6.1% 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 6.8% of those under age 18 and 33.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the town of Wright is provided by Campbell County School District #1. Zoned campuses includ
Cottonwood Elementary School
(grades K–6) and Wright Junior/Senior High Schoolbr>
(grades 7–12) which competes in 2A athletics in Wyoming. Wright 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 Campbell County Public Library System.

Economy

Having been established as a mining town, the majority of people living in Wright are employed by the various mines surrounding it. The site for the proposed, but stalled, Two Elk Energy Park is several miles from town. The Two Elk power plant is a planned 300 megawatt

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

which would burn "

waste coal Coal refuse, also known as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob (garbage of bituminous), is the material left over from coal mining, usually as tailings piles or spoil tips. For every tonne of har ...

" from mines in the area. Waste coal is low-grade coal unsuitable for shipping and sale which would otherwise be reburied. Recent iterations of the plan include using beetle-killed pine as fuel. Only a shed and a partial foundation are at the site. Over 16 years, a series of permit extensions have been issued by Wyoming. Nearly half a billion dollars are available from tax-exempt bonds, but additional investment is required in order to fund the plant.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Campbell County, Wyoming Towns in Wyoming Company towns in Wyoming