Wright

History

Ten thousand years ago, the first people came to the high plains to hunt buffalo and antelope. In more recent times, the Sioux and Crow claimed this area as their hunting grounds. In the 1880s, ranchers came to graze longhorn cattle and sheep on the open range. They were followed by homesteaders lured by the promise of free land. Official settlement began in the area in the early 1900s but boomed in the 1970s, with the creation of the Black Thunder Coal Mine, the largest mine in the Powder River Basin and most productive mine in the United States. The Wright family homesteaded the area in 1911 creating the Wright Community. Shortly after moving to the area, R. A. Wright opened Wright's first Post Office providing mail service to area ranchers. The community became known as Wright, Wyoming. In 1976, during the economic boom led by Amax Coal, Black Thunder coal mine was developed near town. As with all energy towns, housing, schools, and essential services were needed. And like other coal mining regions, the Atlantic Richfield coal company stepped up and built the newly organized community, developing housing and a company store. The Town of Wright was incorporated in 1985, making it one of Wyoming's newest municipalities with a rich history. By 1990, Wright was a well-established community with a population of 1,236 people. On August 12, 2005, an F2 rated tornado struck a mobile home park at Wright, destroying 91 homes, damaging others, and killing two people. Around that time, the residents there proposed a split from Campbell County.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  98
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  85
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  70
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  62
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  54
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  52
• Lark Bunting

  Calamospiza melanocorys Stejneger, 1885 · Aves
  46
• Horned Lark

  Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  46

Largest nearby schools

• Cottonwood Elementary
  Elementary · Wright · 195 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Wright Jr. & Sr. High School
  High · Wright · 189 students · 10.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-07-11
  13 km ENE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.4 — 2026-07-06
  18 km NNE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.3 — 2026-06-30
  24 km SSE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.7 — 2026-06-30
  9 km ENE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.3 — 2026-06-20
  12 km ESE of Wright, Wyoming
• M 3.6 — 2026-06-07
  35 km SE of Wright, Wyoming