Bondurant Library - Summer 2018

Your Bondurant Library is ready for a fun and busy summer! Yvonne has been ordering new best-sellers, scheduling classes and improving the facility for users:

• Pinedale Library pick-up and drop-off (contact Yvonne by 2:00 pm Tuesdays);

• Free internet;

• New books, best-sellers, audio-books, children's books;

• DVDs (250+ titles);

• Access to library books in Pinedale and state-wide;

• Book Club - starts with "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah;

• Children's Story Hour

• Classes - Art, First Aid, Cooking (see calendar);

• Astronomy Night...

Click to read the Summer 2018 BONDURANT LIBRARY Newsletter, and plan to make the Library part of your summer!

LIBRARY HOURS
Tuesday 10 - 2
Saturday 10 - 4
Sunday after church

Wednesday, September 5, 2012. The organizing meeting of the new Friends of the Bondurant Library was held at the Church. See what it's all about, and be a Friend! All are welcome.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011. The Library closed for winter on October 4, following an excellent first season. Throughout the summer many came to visit or check out books, and others enjoyed their time as librarians: thanks to LuAnn Freeman, Lucy Conley, Pauline Robertson, Tom and Marilyn Filkins, Margy Barr and all others for their service.

Monday, October 3, 2011. Hoback Ranches resident Alice Jacobsen presented "Sticking in a Tough Country: Women in the Wyoming Frontier". Attendees enjoyed a fascinating presentation revealing women's unsung roles in settling and civilizing the west, followed by discussion over beverages and cookies.

Saturday, September 10, 2011. The first "Barn Dance" was held to raise funds for the Library Restoration. The event was a success, see Barn Dance for photos and coverage.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011. The Library's "Speaker Series" began with UW Extension Educators Hudson Hill and Bridger Feuz presented "Grazing on Small Acreage - How to Develop a Plan to Increase the Sustainability of Your Property." It was an informative and extremely entertaining evening, including slides and discussion, hands-on experimentation in a nearby pasture, followed by cheesecake and coffee.

Sunday, June 26, 2011. 250 new books donated by the Sublette County Library, plus hundreds of books donated by neighbors, are available to readers of all ages. Additional books are being added every week. Come and browse the new releases, classic literature, complete mystery sets, Western Americana, and expansive Children's and Young Adult section!

Summer Hours: June - July - August - September
Tuesday - 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Sunday - after Church (12:00 - 12:30 p.m.)

All Bondurant residents are welcome to check out books.
Volunteer Librarians are requested to sign up for any available shift.
Contact Margy B., or stop by and say hello!

More About the Bondurant Library

• A Cooperative Effort

• Community Center

• Historic Designation working library

• The Continuing Need for Preservation

• Bondurant Library Restoration Committee

"...through the generosity of a friend in the east, another log building was erected next to the Church that contained the Library and fully equipped first aid dispensary..."
- Mrs. Eileen Dockham

In 1941, the year following construction of St. Hubert the Hunter church, Albert Miller, a local homesteader, constructed the Bondurant Church Parish Center, later called the Library Building. Like the Church, this building consists of local logs, with saddle-notch corners and pole chinking.

A Cooperative Effort

Funds for the building were raised by the Episcopal Diocese, on land belonging to the U. S. Forest Service. "Proceeds for the building materials came from Mrs. Dunn of Philadelphia in the memory of her father, John Buffington" (Pinedale Roundup, 21 May 1942, page 1).

When completed, the building consisted of three rooms housing a dispensary, am emergency room, and a Library.

Although as early as 1921, a graded and oiled road existed between Rock Springs, Pinedale and Yellowstone National Park, the road through Hoback Basin was especially treacherous during the winter. Blizzards often stranded travelers along the road. So the parish center also served as a wayside station to shelter travelers. It housed a first aid kit, non-perishable food, and a stretcher; all of which were donated to the community.

Over 500 books were stored in the front room of the library building. The Bondurant Ladies Guild paid for book shelves, a set of encyclopedias, and provided a stipend for the librarian. The Library's first books were shelved in 1947; it became part of the Sublette County Library system in 1960. The Library was in use until 1998.

School classes were held within the library building between 1945 and 1952. The Bondurant School became Sublette County School District Number 5 and replaced several rural schools. The teacher lived in the rear two rooms and taught in the library portion of the building. Six pupils comprised the first school class; in 1949 the building hosted summer school for 16 pupils in eight grades. It continued to be used as a school until 1952, when a new school building was completed in Bondurant.

Thereafter, the building continued to be utilized as a library and Sunday school classroom. Bondurant lacked a formal community meeting hall like several other small ranching communities in Sublette County such as Daniel and Boulder. The Library building also became th meeting hall for the school board, library board, and other community organizations...

- adapted from the "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form", December 2001

For more, click to read Mrs. Eileen Dockham's History of the Bondurant Library.

Community Center

The Bondurant Basin has no commercial town center. Its two restaurants and one post office are located at opposite ends of the valley. Therefore the Church, Library and adjacent Fire Hall form the social center for neighborhood activities. The Church has been maintained and restored, and the community is currently working to restore the Library, as together the buildings are central to the community's social and historic fabric.

Although the building had not been a Sublette County Library for a number of years it still contained an extensive book collection. It also continued to function as the staging area for the Bondurant Community Club's (BCC) major fund-raising events - the annual Barbeque in June and Heritage Days rummage sale in August - and other regular and occasional BCC events.

Historic Designation

Through community volunteer efforts the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as Wyoming Place No. 390: "Church of St. Hubert the Hunter and Library."

The Continuing Need for Preservation

In the spring of 2010 the historic Library was rapidly deteriorating. But at the eleventh hour, community members stepped up to restore the building. See Restoration for more information.

Bondurant Library Restoration Committee

The Bondurant Library Restoration Committee was formed by the BCC in the summer of 2009 to coordinate efforts to salvage the library before it is too late.

The Committee's goals:

• to stabilize the building and protect it from further deterioration

• to restore the building to its original condition

• to enhance its function for the community's benefit

• to accomplish these tasks while respecting the building's historical character and maintaining its historic designation

Contact a committee member for more information.