Lusk

History

The Black Hills Gold Rush brought fortune seekers to the Wyoming Territory. Within two years, the stage coach route between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Deadwood, South Dakota, delivered freight, including salt pork and whiskey. The boom also brought armored stage coaches and gold bricks, along with Indians and thieves. The Cheyenne–Deadwood route operated from 1876 to 1887, when it was replaced by the Wyoming Central Railway. Frank S. Lusk (1857–1930) was a Wyoming rancher and stockholder in the Wyoming Central Railway. Initially residing in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Denver, Colorado in 1876 and built the Western Live Stock Company under a partnership agreement and established a ranch east of Greeley. In 1877, Lusk traveled to the Wyoming Territory for the first time on personal business and left highly impressed with the people and the area. In 1879, eastern Colorado had grown to the point that Lusk, along with his partners began exploring options outside of the area. His thoughts were recorded in the 1923 Annals of Wyoming: Quarterly Bulletin: My partners were favorable to moving into eastern Colorado near the Nebraska state line but I remembered the people I had met earlier in Wyoming and those I had subsequently met were a fine class of people and I decided we would go to Wyoming. —Frank S. Lusk Lusk and the Western Live Stock Company arrived in the Wyoming Territory in 1880 via Denver, establishing the Node Ranch, about east of present-day Lusk. A year later, he bought some land about outside of Lusk, which included the Running Water Stage Station. Buildings on the land included a stone barn and shelters that had been used by the Cheyenne–Deadwood stage route. Lusk established a hay ranch on the property. He organized his horse ranch at the site of what would…

Geography

Lusk is located at (42.760674, -104.452729). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. The town is west of the Nebraska border and sits at above sea level, surrounded by the southeastern extension of the Black Hills National Forest. Lusk experiences a dry humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  138
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  105
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  105
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  86
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  85
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  83
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  77
• Western Kingbird

  Tyrannus verticalis Say, 1823 · Aves
  61

Largest nearby schools

• Lusk Elementary
  Elementary · Lusk · 302 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Niobrara County High School
  High · Lusk · 299 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Lusk Middle School
  Middle · Lusk · 234 students · 11.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-05-28
  9 km ENE of Glendo, Wyoming
• M 2.6 — 2025-02-03
  39 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 2.9 — 2024-03-20
  39 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.1 — 2022-10-24
  40 km SE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 2.7 — 2021-09-12
  19 km ENE of Hartville, Wyoming
• M 3 — 2021-04-07
  42 km ESE of Wright, Wyoming