Last month we learned about W.R.’s $750,000 donation to the University of Wyoming – among other schools, and this month we’ll highlight the significant contributions W.R.’s made toward his favorite state, Wyoming.
Cody, Wyoming was named after William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who, along with developers, founded Cody in 1901. One of the financial backers thought Buffalo Bill was the “best advertised man in the world”, the ultimate spokesman for the American West. Buffalo Bill purchased a property on Carter Mountain overlooking a lake he named after his daughter Irma which W.R. later purchased in 1910. W.R. was indebted to his part-time residence and proceeded to leave a philanthropic legacy to the burgeoning city.
In 1912, W.R. paid for a clock tower to be added to the new Park County courthouse, noting “that was my first gift to the community.”
Park County Courthouse, Park County Archives, circa 1912.
In 1919, W.R. gave $2,000 to the Church of Wyoming and developed a friendship with Reverend Nathanial S. Thomas, the Episcopal Bishop of Wyoming. It’s believed that the reverend introduced W.R. to Western Americana and sparked his interest in collecting. That same year, W.R. gave eight checks for $500 each to “deserving hospitals” in the area. His interest in medical care increased over the years.
In order for the Cody Hospital to be built in the 1940s, $40,000 was raised by the public. W.R. provided $85,000 for the completion and x-ray equipment. An additional, $135,000 was then donated for the second story, offices, solarium and elevator. He even absorbed a portion of the high salaries! It was officially dedicated on July 24, 1940. After W.R.’s death in 1955, the W.R. Coe Medical Trust was established which later became the Cody Medical Foundation in 1976.
Cody Hospital Addition, 1945.
W.R. was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Wyoming in 1948, W.R. with President of the University Board of Trustees Milward Simpson at Planting Fields, 1948.
After W.R.’s generous gift of $750,000 to the University in 1954, a new building was erected: the William Robertson Coe Library and school of American Studies was added to the campus in 1958. A press release stated that “Mr. Coe feels that Wyoming constitutes a splendid regional center for American studies work because it is strategic geographically for the whole great western region and is in the area still fresh with the pioneering spirit.” It’s also worth noting that both the hospital and library were modern buildings at the time.
President of the University, George D. Humphrey and bust of W.R. Coe, made of Colorado marble and created by Wyoming professor of art, Robert Russin, circa 1958.
Students in the reading room of the first floor of the American Studies wing, William Robertson Coe Library, circa 1958.
W.R.’s interest in Cody was also tied to his connection to Buffalo Bill. In 1927, Buffalo Bill’s niece, Mary Jester Allen asked W.R. to join as an honorary member of the Board of Trustees for the Buffalo Bill Museum, Coe agreed, so long as “it does not entail any work on my part, as I already have more to do than I can take care of.” He left 3% of one-fourth of his estate to the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association in his will and his son, Henry and his wife, Peg held positions on the board. Most significantly was a gift of the Frederic Remington Studio Collection in 1959. It is comprised of 110 original sketches along with a variety of objects and was acquired in its entirety by the Coe Foundation. An entire wing of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art (part of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West) was constructed to accommodate it.
Frederick Remington Studio at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, courtesy Gates Frontiers Fund Wyoming Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
The story of W.R. and Wyoming will be celebrated in our next exhibition, Home on the Range, opening this January – stay tuned for more!
– from Director of Research and Collections, Marie Penny
Head image caption: aerial view of Cody, Wyoming circa 1960.
All images Planting Fields Foundation Archives unless otherwise noted.