George Mitchell papers, 1882-1957

George Mitchell (1859-1955) immigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1875. He worked as a surveyor for the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad before going to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1879. He worked as a ranch hand on the HR Ranch near Wheatland, Wyoming, in the early 1880s and around 1888 became one of the first settlers in Casper, Wyoming, and served as its first mayor. He owned the Wyoming Lumber Company in Casper from 1888-1892. In 1894, he bought the HR Ranch, where he lived the rest of his life, and in 1896, he incorporated the Mitchell Cattle Company. In addition to his cattle business, Mitchell served as president of the Stock Growers Bank of Wheatland for twenty-eight years; was trustee, vice president, and treasurer of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (1908-1931); and was a charter member and later president of the Laramie County (Wyoming) Cattle and Horse Growers Association. He participated in Democratic Party politics, serving as a member of the Wyoming territorial legislature in 1886 and the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1935, and he was a member of the Democratic State Committee for many years.