Ten Sleep Mercantile
National Register of Historic Places

Ten Sleep Mercantile

Ten Sleep, Washakie County, Wyoming
Listed
September 10, 1986
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
86002324

About this property

Ten Sleep Mercantile, also known as Ten Sleep Hardware, is a typical historic small-town general store in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (PNRHP). The store has been the focal point of the town since it was built in 1905 by H.T. Church. Upon Church's death in 1918, the property was bought by Buffalo businessman and rancher Alex Healy in an agreement that brought the store under the control of Paul Frison. Frison, who later served as mayor of Ten Sleep and as a Wyoming state legislator, operated the store from 1918 to 1943. Ten Sleep Mercantile is an example of the tall, narrow and deep commercial buildings commonly found in small American towns. The two-story balloon frame building is the best preserved building of its kind in Ten Sleep. The building is clad in wood clapboards. The front facade features a rod-supported shed roofed porch sheltering display windows and a recessed double door. The second floor has three double-hung windows, while the top of the facade is capped with a simplified bracketed cornice. The side elevations feature a stepped parapet following the single-pitched main roof as it rises from the rear to the front. On the east side a covered stairway climbs to the second floor. The interior is well-preserved with a large, deep main room, and a pressed tin ceiling and plastered walls. A row of arched columns support the second floor. The second floor originally comprised two large rooms for the live-in owners, now subdivided. An unfinished basement underlies all. Paul Frison was significant as a local historian who was instrumental in promoting the Black and Yellow Trail, a tourist route on U.S. Route 14 from Chicago to Yellowstone National Park running through Ten Sleep. The trail's name was derived from the fact that it linked the Black Hills and Yellowstone. Established in 1912, the route featured Ten Sleep Canyon, just east of the town. National Register of Historic Places listings in Washakie County, Wyoming Photographs of Ten Sleep Mercantile at the National Park Service's NRHP database Ten Sleep Hardware at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Ten Sleep Mercantile at the National Archives and Records Administration

Location

Ten Sleep, Washakie County, Wyoming
44.03529, -107.45103

Categories

COMMERCE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Parks, Emerson, House
Industrial
0.4 mi
Saban, James T., Lookout
Industrial
14.6 mi
EJP County Line Bridge
Industrial
14.7 mi
Ainsworth House
Early Republic
17.8 mi
Schunk Lodge
Listed
24.8 mi

Nearby Battles

Tensleep Raid — Wyoming Sheep Wars
1909Frontier
0.1 mi
Sibley Scout Engagement
1876Indian Wars
14.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Ten Sleep Mercantile listed on the National Register?

Ten Sleep Mercantile was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 10, 1986.

What type of historic resource is Ten Sleep Mercantile?

Ten Sleep Mercantile is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Ten Sleep Mercantile?

The period of significance for Ten Sleep Mercantile is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Ten Sleep Mercantile?

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