WHEATLAND - The Platte County Historical Society will host a program titled “Down the Barrel of History: Firearms and Stories,” by Evan Green, the firearms and edged weapons historian at the Wyoming State Museum.  The free program will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the Platte County Public Library. Everyone is welcome.  

“Every old gun has a story.  Sometimes we know the story, sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes the story isn’t true,” said Green. “We have a Winchester carbine that Herb Brink allegedly used to kill Joe Allemand during the Spring Creek sheep raid in 1909,” Green said, adding “A letter from a man on the scene at the time seems to establish solid provenance but testimony in Brink’s trial casts serious doubt that this particular rifle was the murder weapon.”   Other stories include one about James Ryan, the first sheriff of Crook County who arrested Harry Longabaugh, and many more.  

Green will also present his candidate for “The Gun that Won the West.”  He said, “Many people believe that the Colt revolver or the Winchester rifle should hold that title, but there are other firearms that deserve a second look such as the Sharps buffalo rifle used by hide hunters to decimate the American Bison or the Trapdoor Springfield that went with the seventh Cavalry to the Little Bighorn, for example.”   

Green was introduced to guns, hunting, and sport shooting at an early age on his family ranch in eastern Colorado. He earned a BS degree in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University and an MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado.  He was employed by the state of Wyoming for 31 years and then worked as ap project manager for a consulting engineering firm in Cheyenne.  He has been a volunteer at the Wyoming State Museum since 2015 and has updated and expanded inventory information for the museum’s collection of approximately 300 firearms.  Under the supervision of museum staff, he is guest curating a firearms exhibit scheduled to open in the fall of 2023.  Green is a member of the Laramie County Historical Society, the Winchester Arms Collectors, Colt Collectors Association and the Western Folklife Center.  He is a certified firearms instructor and a community service volunteer at the Laramie County Sheriff’s office.  

The Platte County Historical Society is a chapter of the Wyoming State Historical Society.  Membership includes receiving Annals of Wyoming three times a year, Wyoming History News, notices of special events such as treks to historic sites, award opportunities, and more are open to the public.  Officers include Rick Robbins, President; Mary Jo Birt, vice president; Kathy Price, Secretary and Diana McDonald, Treasurer.  For more details contact Rick at 331-3024.