February 20

1792     President George Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office.The Constitution requires the Federal Government to deliver the mail, and this was a vital government service in the much of the nation's history.  Now, with UPS and FedEx, it's easy to forget the extent to which this service mattered more to many people than any other governmental service at one time, and for many people, it was likely the only contact with the Federal Government that they ever had.

Since writing the paragraph immediately above, the impacts of other services, and most particularly of the internet, have made the Post Office's position sufficiently precarious that Saturday mail delivery is scheduled to be eliminated.

1911  Gov. Carey signed bill carving Lincoln County out of Uinta County.:  Attribution:  On This Day.

1917   The Cheyenne State Leader for February 20, 1917: The news about Gen. Funston hits the headlines and Colorado protests a Wyoming demobilization.
 

The news of Gen. Funston's death hit the front page of the paper the day after.

And Colorado was upset about Colorado National Guardsmen being sent to Ft. D. A. Russell for demobilization, rather than a location in their home state.

Dogs were barred entry into the state by Governor Kendrick due to concerns over rabies.

1919  The  Legislature appropriated $2,500 for placing markers along the Oregon Trail.  A good example of these very first markers can be seen in the bottom photograph here.  The top example, featuring a bronze medallion, is a somewhat later one which was placed by a commission.  The monument itself in the top photo is not original, but the 1914 State of Wyoming one is fully original.

1923  The Legislature experienced a 56 hour "day" in a questionable legislature trick designed to keep the clock from winding up on the session. This trick has been repeated since then, but this one was the record.

1949  The last day of the Blizzard of 1949, which was actually a series of blizzards that occurred in rapid succession.

1957  Gov. Milward Simposn signs a state Civil Rights act.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1980 Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the first child of Theodore Roosevelt, his only child by his first wife Alice, and the last of his living children, died.

1982  The University of Wyoming's Arena Auditorium opened.