Cokeville, Wyoming

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Cokeville is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 506 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Retelling
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Cokeville is located at 42°5′6″N, 110°57′20″W (42.084940, -110.955684)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 506 people, 166 households, and 125 families residing in the town. The population density was 267.6/km² (693.2/mi²). There were 195 housing units at an average density of 103.1/km² (267.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.83% White, 0.40% African American, 2.0% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.37% of the population.

There were 166 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.3% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.66.

In the town the population was spread out with 37.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,705, and the median income for a family was $39,000. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,900. About 7.1% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

The Shoshone Indians were the first inhabitants of the area. The first white man, Tilford Kutch, arrived in 1869, opened a trading post in 1873 and ran a ferry across Smiths Fork.

The year 1869 brought the completion of the transcontinental railroad. This didn't effect Cokeville much as the nearest rail was in Evanston, Wyoming, 70 miles south. Wagons were the primary form of transportation. The year 1882 brought the track to Cokeville and the sheep industry to new heights, earning the claim to fame in 1918 as "Sheep Capital of the World" with its claims of the most millionaires per capita in the United States. "Cokeville" became incorporated in 1910. 150 citizens were reported at the time. Early cattle ranching vanished by 1921 when it completely gave way to the sheep industry because it was more profitable. September 11, 1920 brought the first airplane to Cokeville.

Cokeville Elementary School the target of a May 16, 1986 domestic terrorist attack and the entire school, visitors and all, were taken hostage. David Young, a former policeman and his wife, Doris, took over the school with a cache of weapons and a large bomb transported on a cart. Many people thought they could shoot him, but learned he was tied to the bomb. Should he go down, and the key pulls out, the bomb would detonate. The incident inspired the book When Angels Intervene to Save the Children on which the NBC movie To Save the Children was later very loosely based. Twenty years after the bombing, the Cokeville Miracle Foundation compiled and had published a book of nearly 200 first hand accounts titled, "Witness to Miracles". The book tells the personal stories of many of the hostages involved in the crisis.

In 1990, Cokeville High School made The USA Today being dubbed "Title Town" for the number of honors bestowed upon its athletic programs.

Currently, Todd Dayton, the Cokeville High School football coach is ranked in the 10 5 USA Today "winningest" coaches in high school football.

Cokeville is also the home to many famous people including LDS Western female artist, Minerva Teichert (deceased); movie actor Stewart Petersen, and internationally recognized service-oriented Lois Dayton. Film producer James Dayton also hails from Cokeville.

[edit] Retelling

Part of this miraculous story can be viewed on the Unsolved Mysteries "Miracles" and "The Best of Unsolved Mysteries" collections, both on the first disc.