A. J. Parshall Papers, 1872-1919

Adrian Jefferson Parshall was appointed state engineer of Wyoming in 1911. He was born May 24, 1849, in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated from the university there in 1871. He came to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1872 to work in the state surveyor’s office. He relocated to Custer, and later Deadwood, South Dakota, from 1876 to 1883, where he was employed in banks partially owned by M.E. Post of Cheyenne. In 1879, Parshall married Post’s niece, Annie Kilbourne. The couple’s daughter, Amalia, was born in 1880. She later married Charles J. Ohnhaus.

After returning to Wyoming in 1883, Parshall was employed as cashier of Post’s Cheyenne bank until the failure of that institution in 1887. Parshall then turned to public service. He became treasurer of Cheyenne in 1893, chief clerk of the Arid Land Board in 1895, clerk of the State Land Commissioners in 1898, and assistant state engineer in 1899. In 1902 he resigned to become a hydrographer for the United States. In that capacity, he surveyed the site of the Pathfinder Dam.

Parshall was appointed Wyoming State Engineer in 1911. He was responsible for laying out state highways, including one from Cheyenne to Yellowstone National Park. He was also responsible for approving the route of the Lincoln Highway through Wyoming. Parshall died in Cheyenne in November, 1919.