Wyoming
Wyoming History: Calamity Jane’s Turbulent Visits To Her Sister’s Homestead
At the mouth of Sinks Canyon near Lander, Wyoming, the tiny community of Borner’s Garden had thrived in the late 1800s.
It consisted of a schoolhouse, post office, and a few homesteading families. One of these families were John and Lena Borner who were raising their six children in this rural community that had been named after John’s fruit trees and large garden.
Their son Frank Edward remembered as a small boy hiding behind his mother’s skirts. His dad was gone and a woman had ridden up to the porch of their cabin. He later learned that she was his Aunt Calamity Jane.
Jan Cerney wrote about the incident in “Calamity Jane and Her Siblings: The Saga of Lena and Elijah Canary.”
“He recalled that his mother Lena asked her what she was doing there and what she wanted,” Cerney wrote. “Lena told Calamity to leave and never come back. Apparently, at that time, Lena had had it with her sister Martha.”
Martha Jane Canary, more widely known as Calamity Jane, was Lena’s big sister and her uncouth ways were not always welcome in Lena’s quiet home.
Another time, Cerney said that Hannah was the child who mimicked Aunt Calamity’s swear words, distressing John Borner to the point that he again told Calamity to never come back.
Future Brother-in-Law
Bill Wilkinson, a great-nephew of Martha Jane said in an interview to author Ellen Crago Mueller that his Aunt Calamity Jane was at the mining camps on South Pass in Wyoming around 1870-71.
It was while here that she first met freighter John G. Borner, her future brother-in-law.
Borner had been badly hurt and broken his leg according to family accounts. He was taken to the rooming house where Martha Jane Canary was working, and the young woman set his leg.
Jean Mathisen, in a December 1996 True West article, “Calamity’s Sister,” said that Canary asked Borner if she could make the trip to Salt Lake for him to check on her brother and sister, Lena and Elijah, known as “Lige.”
“She supposedly made two trips in the next six weeks and brought Borner’s customary load of goods to South Pass,” Mathisen wrote. “After his leg healed, Borner resumed his trips to Salt Lake and made the acquaintance of Lena and Lige Canary.”
John Borner was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1835 and, after immigrating to America, had been injured in the Civil War. Borner later came and joined the Wyoming gold rush at South Pass in 1869.
In 1872, Borner, Ernest Hornecker and Jake Frey moved to an area known as Chief Washakie’s horse pasture, near the mouth of Sinks Canyon at the base of the Wind River Mountains.
The men squatted on what was then Indian land and took up claims. Chief Washakie knew the men according to Mathisen and had encouraged them to settle in the valley to help provide protection for his Eastern Shoshone band from his enemies, the Sioux and Arapahos.
By the next year Borner was building on his own claim in a rich meadowland near the Popo Agie River.
Building A Home
“It was John Borner that brought Lena, Calamity Jane’s sister, to this country to be a companion of the Indian agent on the reservation,” Jack States of Lander told Cowboy State Daily.
States’ father went to school at Borner’s Garden and had shared with States’ the tall tales that swirled around the family of Calamity Jane. States said that at times it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, but it is well known that Martha Canary spent a lot of time at Borner’s Garden and Lander to be near her sister.
Although Borner had originally brought Lena Canary to the area as a companion at Fort Washakie, romance had blossomed between the by-now eighteen-year-old girl and Borner, who was over twenty years her senior, and the job was short-lived. John Borner and Lena Pauline Canary were married in 1875.
Lander Museum Director Randy Wise said Borner’s Garden where Borner brought his young wife was a beautiful area below the canyon proper.
“According to the historic documents, it was one of the few places in the whole state where you could actually grow apples and plums,” Wise said. “They grew currants and gooseberries and things like that up there.”
The Borners became the parents of seven children over the next nine years: May Rebecca, Tobias (Tobe), Frank Edward, Theresa Theodosa, Hannah, Bertha Pauline and William Frederick.
“At its height, there might have been maybe 40 people living in Borner’s Garden,” Wise said. “It was never a formal town and just one of many little communities that dotted the region.”
Aunt Calamity
Accounts differ as to whether Borner and Lena’s infamous sister got along, although a younger brother of Ernest and Mart’s, Albert Hornecker, remembered that Calamity would travel by in a buggy on her way to visit her sister Lena when she knew Borner would be gone.
Tobe Borner related in the September 1941 Basin Republican Rustler that his father had no use for Calamity and felt she was a poor influence on his growing family. However, Tobe also said that Martha Jane was present at his birth in May of 1877, so she continued to visit despite the misgivings of her brother-in-law.
According to Mathisen, old-timers in Lander, the community that grew up on the site of old Camp Brown, stated that Calamity Jane and her sister Lena ran a laundry together in a small log building that sat on Main Street, between Second and Third, in early-day Lander.
“Calamity spent a fair amount of time in Wyoming and this part of Wyoming in particular,” Wise said. “When Calamity was sober, she would help her sister at the laundry in town.”
John Borner’s dislike to Calamity continued to grow, mostly because of her drinking and swearing. Cerney said that Calamity wasn’t afraid of Borner and visited her sister when John Borner wasn’t around. The Hornecker neighbors saw Calamity pass by in a buggy on her way to the Borner place when John Borner was not home. Tom Bell, a local Lander historian, told Cerney that Calamity often stayed at the Borner School when she came to visit her sister since she was not welcome in the Borner home.
A Ghost Community
Tragedy visited the Borner family in October of 1888. Lena Canary Borner, 31, passed away after suffering ill health for two years from injuries she had sustained from being kicked by a cow.
Her obituary in the October 17, 1888, issue of the Fremont Clipper stated, “She was one of the most industrious women in the valley and one whom all her acquaintances held in the highest respect. Her pride was in her children and her home.”
Heartbroken and tired of fighting with his neighbors and former friends over irrigation pipes, John Borner moved his family to Greybull the following spring. He had built a cabin at what would someday be the site of Greybull, Wyoming, and later added corrals and barns.
In 1888 the Wyoming Territorial Legislature authorized a Poor Farm for the soon-to-be state. The trustees bought Borner’s ranch, and in the spring of 1889, Borner loaded up his wagons along with his children and moved to his new land claim. He had 100 head of cattle, a herd of horses, and a herd of mules he had acquired from the government.
A special June 6, 1974, edition of the Greybull Standard stated that Borner was “a prosperous and very intelligent rancher from the Lander County. He picked Greybull as the site of his new home because of his belief that it was an ideal location. Two rivers flowed into the Big Horn within the space of a mile, the Greybull River and Shell Creek. Between the mouths of these two streams, he felt should be an ideal site for a town.”
He never remarried and his children adored him. Aunt Calamity Jane would occasionally visit but had mostly gone on her way to create myths about her life. She passed away in 1903 when she was 51.
At Borner’s Garden, only memories of Calamity Jane and her sister’s family are left. The schoolhouse that Calamity Jane stayed in was moved to the Lander museum and the old homes have fallen down long ago.
“She had quite a lively career when she left this place,” States said. “We have a number of stories from people who knew her when she was here but that part of the history sort of borders on fantasy.”
Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
Wyoming
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon won’t seek a third term. He won’t rule out running for other offices, either
(WYOFILE) – Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon will not seek a third term, his office announced Thursday. However, the two-term Republican governor has not ruled out running for another office.
“He’s still kind of exploring his options,” Amy Edmonds, Gordon’s spokesperson, told WyoFile.
As candidates across Wyoming have announced bids for various statewide offices in recent months, Gordon has been tight-lipped about his own plans, leading to speculation that he would put the state’s gubernatorial term limits to the test.
In two opinions about a decade apart, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that term limits on legislators as well as on most top elected positions in the state were unconstitutional. While the high court has not addressed the qualifications for governor, it’s been widely suggested that a court challenge would be successful. Such was the discussion in 2010, when Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal ultimately chose not to seek a third term.
There’s also been speculation that Gordon may run for Congress, which he’s done in the past. In 2008, Gordon ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was ultimately defeated by Cynthia Lummis in the primary election. If Gordon seeks the seat in 2026, he’ll join a crowded field that has already attracted at least 10 Republicans. It’s possible he could also be eyeing a run for Wyoming’s soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat — a choice that would pit him against Rep. Harriet Hageman, whom he defeated in the governor’s race in 2018.
Wyoming’s candidate filing period opens for two weeks at the end of May.
As for the rest of Gordon’s final term in the governor’s office, his “focus remains on essential pillars like supporting core industries, growing Wyoming’s economy, strengthening local communities and families, and safeguarding Wyoming’s vital natural resources,” according to the Thursday press release.
Starting in June, Gordon will set out on a series of community visits to “engage directly with citizens,” the release states, and is particularly interested in having discussions about “protecting our resilient property tax base that funds local services like education, fire protection, police services and others, as well as honoring local control, investing in our future through smart saving and continued stewardship of our wildlife, land, and water.”
The governor also pointed to the Aug. 18 primary election.
“You don’t have to be Governor to make a difference in Wyoming,” Gordon wrote. “Participating in elections is something all of us can do to make a real difference, and these conversations are important to have to ensure everyone makes informed decisions about the future of Wyoming.”
Whether Gordon will run for office is one lingering question — to what degree he will support other candidates is another.
In 2024, Gordon personally spent more than $160,000 on statehouse races, backing non-Wyoming Freedom Caucus Republicans who generally aligned with his positions on energy, economic diversification, mental health services and education.
While many of those races did not go Gordon’s way — the Freedom Caucus won control of the House — the governor is coming off a legislative budget session where lawmakers largely approved his proposed budget.
More specifically, the Legislature’s final budget came in about $53 million shy of the governor’s $11 billion recommendations after significant cuts were floated by the Freedom Caucus lawmakers ahead of the session. Many of those notable cuts — including to the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Business Council — were ultimately rejected.
While Gordon applauded the final budget, he also said in March he was “saddened by some of the reductions,” including the Legislature’s decision to nix SUN Bucks, the summer food program that fills the gap for kids when there are no school lunches. Wednesday, however, the governor signed an executive order that will start delivering food benefits to Wyoming families as early as June.
Details for Gordon’s upcoming community visits will be posted to the governor’s website, according to the press release.
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Wyoming
(LETTERS) Wyoming Supreme Court judges, congressional responsibility, pregnancy and US involvement in the Middle East
Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.
Wyoming Supreme Court judge process better than federal’s
Dear Casper,
This letter is in response to Mr. Ross Schriftman’s letter to the editor from April 11. His opinion appears to be that the Wyoming process of selecting Wyoming Supreme Court justices is somehow flawed. Justices are selected through a merit-based assisted appointment process. When a vacancy occurs, a seven-member Judicial Nominating Commission recommends three candidates to the governor, who appoints one.
Appointed justices serve at least one year before standing in a nonpartisan retention election for an eight-year term.
The commission consists of the chief justice as chair/tie-breaker, three attorneys selected by the Wyoming State Bar and three non-attorneys appointed by the governor. The governor must select one of the three nominees provided by the commission to fill the vacancy.
After serving at least one year, justices stand for retention in the next general election. Voters cast a “yes” or “no” vote. If retained, the justice serves an eight-year term.
Candidates must be U.S. citizens, Wyoming residents for at least three years, licensed to practice law, and have at least nine years of legal experience. Justices must retire at age 70.
U.S. Supreme Court are appointed for life!
I would offer that the Wyoming process is superior to that of the U.S. Constitution. Voters are involved the process, which we are not at the federal level.
Wyoming justices can be impeached and removed from office by the state House of Representatives and Senate.
Michael Bond
Casper
Wyoming delegation must answer for President Trump’s Iran policy
Dear Casper,
Sent this to each of our Wyoming congressional delegates. I lived in Montana for years. These are the questions the Daily Montanan asked of their elected congressional representatives.
I ask the same questions of our Wyoming delegation. Montana got no answers. I doubt that we will either.
- President Donald Trump has continued to threaten to hit targets that would affect or kill civilians in Iran. Do you support his stated objectives and deadlines?
- Are you concerned that some of these targets could be construed as attacking civilians and therefore become war crimes?
- Do you have any concerns about wiping out an entire civilization, as Trump has threatened?
- If these are only rhetorical threats, what does that do to our stature in the world when we make threats, but don’t follow through with them?
- Polls have continued to show more than a majority of Americans do not support the efforts against Iran. Why do you support the effort?
- If you do not support the effort in Iran, at what point would you support Congressional intervention or oversight on the issue?
- Have you been briefed and do you believe that there are clear objectives in this war with Iran, and how can you communicate those with your constituents?
- The U.S. has repeatedly criticized Vladimir Putin and Russia for its invasion and treatment of the Ukrainian people and it sovereignty. How does that differ from America’s “excursion” into Iran?
- What is your message for Montanans who are seeing gas prices and the cost of living generally increase?
- Last week, President Trump said that America doesn’t have enough money for healthcare and childcare; further, those things must be left to the individual states in order to fund the military? Do you agree?
- President Trump continues to boost military budgets and request additional funding for the war in Iran. Do you support these?
Tami Munari
Laramie
Pregnancy is personal, not political
Dear Casper,
The recent Wyoming Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed abortion is health care, has caused some who disagree with the ruling to attack Wyoming’s judicial system.
In an opinion letter, candidate Ross Schriftman facetiously writes, “…our God-given First Amendment right of free speech does not apply when criticizing our fellow citizen judges.”
This is the first flaw in his logic because the Constitution was not written by God, therefore the right of freedom of speech was thought up and written by men. God is not the author nor guarantor of personal freedoms — our Constitution and judicial system are.
The second flaw in his argument references a letter signed by 111 professionally-trained, experienced, and well-respected Wyoming judges and attorneys explaining how the courts arrive at their rulings. It is illogical to claim we are all “citizen judges” because even though citizens have a constitutionally-guaranteed right to an opinion, it does not make every citizen a legal expert. The judges’ and attorneys’ excellent letter speaks for itself.
Mr. Schriftman claims the Supreme Court, “… create(d) an absurd definition of health care to include the intentional murder of pre-born human persons; something they did to justify overriding the equal protection clause… .” This logic is flawed because it is based on a conflation of an obsession with “pre-born human persons” and equal protection under the law.
There is significant disagreement on the issue of fetal personhood and who gets to determine it: the doctors? the lawyers? the pregnant woman? the anti-choice crowd?
Many understand and appreciate it has taken women almost 200 years to gain and keep Equal Protection Under the Law, and the disagreement over who is legally, materially, and morally responsible for a fertilized human egg has always been part this historical struggle. But it was the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that finally established a constitutional right, for women and men, to private health care decisions and, since pregnancy is a health condition, that included abortion.
Even though it wasn’t explicit, Roe also effectively affirmed that bestowing of “personhood” is a private determination to be made by the pregnant woman and her God. But, sadly, here we are again, dealing with folks who mistakenly believe they have a right to interfere in someone else’s pregnancy.
The Rev. L Kee
Casper
Why does the U.S. keep troops in oil producing countries?
Dear Casper,
There are two facts that don’t ever seem to be considered by our government that cost us dearly.
Osama Bin Laden said the stationing of U.S. troops in the Middle East was the reason Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11. Does the U.S. believe that the oil producing countries in the Middle East will only sell us oil if we force them to by stationing troops there? I’m not aware of any other countries that believe that.
The other fact is, the U.S. is the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon offensively. There are several countries that have nuclear weapons, including North Korea. The reason countries have been reluctant to use nuclear weapons is MAD, mutually assured destruction. Consequently, is it reasonable to expect Iran, should they develop a nuclear weapon, to attack the U.S., knowing that our superiority in nuclear capability would assure the complete destruction of their country? It clearly would be suicidal for them to do so.
But, just to be cautious, rather than destroying the entire country to deter Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, wouldn’t it make more sense to destroy their nuclear infrastructure?
Bill Douglass
Casper
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