With the Sweetwater County Library’s history it’s no wonder why many residents, employees and former employees believe that it is haunted.
The library, located at 300 N. 1st East used to be a cemetery, which was established the city in 1892.
The site remained a cemetery until 1926, when a federal CWA project moved the bodies and old grave markers to the Riverview Cemetery, which was just up the hill and still remains as the cemetery today.
Sweetwater County Library reference librarian Micki Gilmore said when the gravesite were moved coffins were lined up all along the hill. Stacks upon stacks could be seen on 300. N. 1st St.
Gilmore said there are stories of teenagers breaking into the wooden coffins and stealing items from the remains. She said there are also rumors of resident’s pets taking bones away from the site.
Gilmore is currently working on a book about the history of the site and the hauntings that occur. Gilmore said she is about 80 percent complete. She said it is important for people to know the history of the library.
According to the library’s website, the town started using the site as park in the 1930.
It remained as a park until 1944 when veterans of World War II started returning home and needed a place to stay.
The park was made into a Veterans Housing Site. During the construction for this housing project, more unmarked bodies were discovered.
The identities of these remains were not known and still remain unknown.
In 1978, the land was once again the site for a new project — the Sweetwater County Library. During this construction, 12 more unknown bodies were discovered. In 1983, a landscaping project took place at the library. Once again, bodies and unmarked graves were discovered.
The huntings or unexplained occurrences did not start occurring in the library until 1985.
Gilmore said because a lot of experiences have happened to her over the years people have pointed the finger and told her she is the cause of the hauntings. The truth is, that although Gilmore has worked at the library for about 22 years, these unexplained occurrences started before Gilmore started working at the library.
In fact, the unexplained occurrences were happening so frequently that in 1989 author Debra D. Munn included a story about the library titled “The Library Built Over a Cemetery,” in her book called “Ghosts on the Range: Eerie True Tales of Wyoming.”
In 1993, library employees decided to start documenting unexplained occurrences that have happened to patrons or employees of the library. This book was named the “Ghost Log,” which is filled with all kinds of stories about the library. Gilmore said she is using a lot of those stories in her book.
In 1996, a pipeline project just outside the library was taking place. During this project two coffins with remains in them were discovered. They were discovered when one of the wooden coffins was nicked during digging. Although the names were not discovered, a plaque on one of the coffins indicated that the coffin was purchased from Beenam and Cashin Mercantile Co. of Evanston.
There have not been anymore bodies discovered. The “Ghost Log” is still being used today.
It is available at the circulation desk for patrons to look at, but it cannot be checked out.
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