University of Wyoming
Lora Webb Nichols (1883-1962) was born in Boulder, Colorado. She lived most of her life in Encampment, Wyoming where she was married to Albert (Bert) Oldman in 1900, and to her cousin Guy H. Nichols in 1914. She worked in the Encampment post office, owned and published the Encampment newspaper, and worked as a ranch cook. In 1935, she moved to Stockton, California, where she became superintendent of the Stockton Childrens Home. Upon retiring, she returned to Encampment, where she wrote her unfinished memoirs, "I Remember : A Girl's Eye View of Early Days in the Rocky Mountains."
The collection contains transcripts of her diaries (1897-1907), an unfinished manuscript, "I Remember" (ca. 1962, covering events from 1859-1905), and photographs and negatives of Nichols life in Wyoming, California, and the Rocky Mountain region.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
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Lora Webb Nichols papers are also located at the Grand Encampment Museum in Encampment, Wyoming.
Grand Encampment Museum in Encampment, Wyoming retains possession of original diaries from which photocopies and transcripts have been made for this collection.
This material was received from Lora Nichols in 1961, Vera Oldman from 1963-1980, and Mary Nichols Ledington in 2015.
The collection was processed by Jamie J. Greene in September 2020.
The negatives of the Lora Webb Nichols papers have been digitized and made available on-line thanks to a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund from 2017-2020.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at