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During the first two decades of the 20th century, the population of the state nearly doubled to 194,531. Much of the growth was due to the discovery and drilling of oil, which centred on the town of Casper. The Great Depression of the 1930s, however, brought a drop in the price of oil and coal and, as a result, an increase in Wyoming’s unemployment rate. Many people left the state in search of work. New Deal economic recovery programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps were of great benefit to the state, providing jobs in and around Wyoming’s national and state parks. Moreover, the Casper-Alcova Project (now the Kendrick Project), funded by the Public Works Administration, was established to construct dams on the North Platte River for irrigation purposes and to generate electricity. (Since then, the number of irrigated acres of farmland has increased dramatically.) In the 1934 elections, Democrats won the majority of the seats in the state legislature, but by 1938 the Republicans had regained control of the legislature, which they would dominate for the rest of the century.
Following World War II (1939–45), Wyoming experienced modest population growth and an expansion of both its agricultural and resource-extractive economic sectors. The discovery of uranium, an important nuclear fuel, in the Powder River basin in 1951 coincided with the expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal. Steel foundries and coal-burning power plants were built in the 1960s, during which time the state’s oil industry grew markedly as well.
During the energy boom of the 1970s, Wyoming’s population grew substantially—increasing by nearly 50 percent from 1970 to 1983. The state also enjoyed one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. However, the world oil-supply glut that followed in the mid-1980s caused a substantial downturn in the state’s economy, which led to significant out-migration.
With the development of ski facilities at Jackson and nearby towns that began in the late 1940s, Wyoming became a popular winter-sports destination. Consequently, tourism emerged as an important component of the economy. Later in the 20th century, numerous wealthy visitors, many with connections to Hollywood, bought second homes in Wyoming, particularly in Jackson.
Wyoming in the 21st century
Although Wyoming retains its Western heritage and personality, employment in the state is now more centred on mining and the service industry than on cowboy life. The state’s reliance on the energy industries of coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium has made Wyoming subject to “boom-and-bust” cycles that depend on world prices for its products. The state has made considerable and largely successful efforts to diversify its economy, increasing its emphasis on tourism and recreation, but its economy remains tied to mining and ranching.