When she was a research scientist in American studies at the University of Wyoming, Mary Humstone says she spent a lot of time at Sunrise Mine, leading field research at the iron ore mine and company town operated from 1898-1980.

So, it is no surprise that the Platte County site is her favorite of the 100 most significant state historical buildings and sites included on a new website called SAH Archipedia, a scholarly project of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH). The website includes histories, photographs and maps for more than 3,600 structures in 1,490 cities in all 50 states.

Humstone, who retired from UW in 2014, was the editor for the Wyoming section of the website, which includes UW, the Wyoming Territorial Prison, Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park and the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow.

“It is a place I have visited often,” Humstone says of Sunrise Mine. “It had one of the early YMCAs, which was built in the early 1900s. At its peak, Sunrise Mine had 500-600 people. Now, it’s a ghost town.”

“She chose the 100 and organized all of the contributors who wrote the individual entries, and she wrote many of them herself,” says Anthony Denzer, chair of the UW Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering.

Professor Humstone joined SAH in 1986.  

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See SAH Archipedia Classic Buildings Wyoming here