Not just old buildings, today and in days gone by, these structures have served as centers for community events, meetings and group functions. Today these historic buildings have come to symbolize the communities themselves, and each has a community organization that is devoted to the building's preservation. Each community holds annual events at these buildings to help fund their maintenance and continued preservation.

Sublette County has a long rural ranching history. In this environment, the communities were small and often consisted of no more than a few buildings located near a local ranch. Due to the lack of buildings for public gatherings, these small communities often banded together to build a public building primarily through the volunteer labor and donations of the residents.

These buildings often started as a church or school, but because of their large meeting rooms, evolved into a meeting place for all community events. Before long, functions for school, church, weddings, dances, public meetings, bake sales, raffles, and fund raisers made the trek to the community hall an almost weekly event for the entire community. In many cases, these buildings helped create a community that had only loosely existed before.

As each community building reached middle age and had lost its usefulness, it faced a crisis of whether to be renovated or tore down. Fortunately, in some cases, a dedicated group of citizens within the community have taken on the challenge to raise money and volunteer labor to renovate and save these once vital community buildings.

This web page is the companion of a brochure that highlights four buildings within Sublette County that have not only survived the crisis but now have a new life. Each is protected by a community club that is dedicated to its preservation. These buildings and their annual fund raising events have come to symbolize these communities.

The brochure covers the following buildings: Church of St. Hubert the Hunter, in Bondurant, Wyoming; Daniel School House in Daniel, Wyoming; Boulder School House in Boulder, Wyoming; and the Big Piney Community Hall in Big Piney, Wyoming. This web site includes the information in the brochure, as well as information about other historic buildings of note that space limitations would not permit including on the brochure.

This project was financed in part with funds granted to the Sublette County Historic Preservation Board from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior. The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office administers these federal funds as part of Wyoming's Certified Local Government program. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. The contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U. S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, handicap or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, D.C. 20013-7127.