Bryant Butler Brooks

Who was Bryant Butler Brooks?

Bryant Butler Brooks was an American businessman, rancher and politician. He was the seventh Governor of Wyoming from January 2, 1905 until January 2, 1911.

Brooks was born in Bernardston, Massachusetts. He completed his basic education there, then moved to Chicago, Illinois to attend business college. In 1880 he moved to Big Muddy, Wyoming, at the age of eighteen. He began raising livestock, using the registered brand of V Bar V and became active in the Republican Party, serving in the second class of the Wyoming State Legislature.

He took over from Fenimore Chatterton as Governor of Wyoming in 1905, and was re-elected in 1907. He was the first Governor to occupy the Wyoming Governor's Mansion, completed in 1904. Brooks died in 1944 in Casper, Wyoming, and is interred in Highland Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Mary Naomi Brooks, and five children. His memoirs were published in 1939 under the title: Memoirs of Bryant B. Brooks: Cowboy, Trapper, Lumberman, Stockman, Oilman, Banker, and Governor of Wyoming. His official portrait was painted by artist Michele Rushworth and hangs in the state capitol in Cheyenne, Wyoming.