Dixon, Wyoming The Bank That Became Town Hall

Around Town

1. Dixon Town Hall (the Stockgrowers Bank)

   Third Street, at the northwest corner of Third and B Streets

   A single-story, ornamented concrete-block building with a tin cornice and four broad display windows, built in 1916 for the Stockgrowers Bank and home to town hall since 1975. The National Register nomination found the town's records still kept in the bank's safe and council meetings still held in the building. It is a working town hall — enjoy it from the street unless you have town business.^{4, 7, 9}

2. Russell Community Park Arena

   East of Dixon

   The Little Snake River Valley Rodeo is held yearly east of Dixon in the Russell Community Park Arena. The town says the Lions Club Rodeo has been an annual event for more than 50 years, and that the arena is used regularly for roping and other events. The county visitors' guide places the Lions Club Rodeo in July.^{1, 8}

3. Little Snake River Museum

   Savery, Wyoming, east of Dixon in the same valley

   The valley's museum occupies the former Savery School, given to the community after schools consolidated in Baggs in 1972, and now counts over 15 historic buildings. Among them are Jim Baker's 1873 cabin, returned to the valley in 1976 and named a National Historic Place in 1982, and “Dixon Street,” replica pre-1940 Dixon storefronts including Fred Johnson's Barber Shop, Harris Mercantile, and John Iron's Dixon Saloon.^{10, 11, 12, 5, 13}

4. Wyoming Highway 70 and Battle Pass

   Wyoming Highway 70, from Encampment over the Sierra Madre to Baggs, through Savery and Dixon

   The Battle Highway is a 57-mile paved road over the crest of the Sierra Madre Mountains in the Medicine Bow National Forest, from Encampment to Baggs. The Forest Service calls the Battle Townsite Overlook, at Battle Pass on the Continental Divide, an ideal rest stop with views of the Sierra Madre. Near Dixon the highway crosses the Little Snake River.^{8, 14, 15, 16}

5. Everyday Dixon

   In town, along the highway through Dixon

   The Town of Dixon lists what a traveler will find today: a U.S. Post Office, a senior center, an Episcopal church, a town park, a Carbon County maintenance shop, and one bar, the Dixon Club. The county guide describes the Dixon Club as a longtime stopping place for travelers through the valley.^{1, 8}

6. The county poor farm barn

   On private ground, visible from Wyoming Highway 70

   Dixon once had the county poor farm, and the town says its barn still stands on private ground and can be seen from Highway 70. Look from the road only — please do not enter private land for a closer view.¹

If You Go

• The Little Snake River Museum in Savery is seasonal: when open, it keeps daily hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from late May to mid-October, phone 307-383-7262. Its home page currently says the museum is closed for the season and gives a reopening month, so check the museum's site or call before making the trip.^{10, 11, 13}
• Plan the Battle Highway drive for the open season. The county guide invites travelers to enjoy Highway 70 from Memorial Day through October, and the Town of Dixon links visitors to the Wyoming Road Report for current conditions. Check conditions before crossing Battle Pass.^{8, 1}
• For the Little Snake River Valley Rodeo, the county guide says July, at Russell Community Park east of Dixon, and the town describes it as a Lions Club event held yearly for more than 50 years. No specific future dates are listed in the sources above, so confirm the current year's dates locally before you go.^{8, 1}
• Town Hall is a working government building and the poor farm barn stands on private land. Please photograph both from public streets and the highway, and give residents, ranches, and livestock drives plenty of room — the town notes that herds of cattle and flocks of sheep still move through the valley on the roads.^{4, 1}
• Services in Dixon are few, so plan ahead. The town lists the Dixon Motel (307-383-2300) across from the Dixon Club, along with the post office and town park. Those listings come from the town's own website — verify them before depending on any one stop for a room, a meal, or fuel.^{1, 8}