Empire, Wyoming’s Lost All Black Town

The forgotten town of Empire, Wyoming, was once one of the most unique places in America. It was an all black town at a time when such a thing was almost unheard of.

So what happened to Empire?

Empire was an agricultural settlement founded in 1908 by African-American families near the Nebraska border, northeast of Torrington.

The founders of Empire arrived with substantial financial resources and farming experience. This was quite different than most homesteaders. Empire was settled by several families closely related through intermarriage.

The community, which included its own school, post office, and churches, lasted two decades before it dissolved in the 1920s due to drought, harsh economic conditions, and racial hostility.

While Empire was the most prominent, the coal town of Dana also briefly had a majority Black population in the early 1900s.

The residents of Empire valued education; several had earned advanced degrees. By 1909, the town had a schoolhouse.

But segregation was still a problem back then. Wyoming required school segregation in any district with more than fifteen non-white students. Empire residents used this law to their advantage in 1910. The Torrington school board tried to hire a white teacher when the community had asked for a "colored" teacher. The residents won their case and rehired Sally Thistle, a young black teacher from Cheyenne.

The families who lived there sought self-sufficiency and political autonomy. It ultimately dissolved in the 1920s due to harsh conditions, recurring drought, and intense racial hostility from neighboring white communities, which culminated in the tragic death of settler Baseman Taylor in 1913.

Empire, Wyoming, was a short-lived. By 1930, only four black people remained in the county, and the town of Empire was gone. Houses erected with high hopes were abandoned and soon fell apart.

Find out more at the National Park Service Website.