Old West Group

The WTA is an American cattle and trade organization among Wyoming cattle ranchers and businessmen to standardize and organize the cattle and trade industry but quickly grew into a political force.



Jon Claridge (Esq) is the president and founder.

Formerly the Timms, Sorensen, and Claridge Trade and Cattle Company. The Wyoming Tradesmen Association (WTA) derived from valiant efforts of Jon Claridge and his associates of the TSC Trading Company, an American cattle and trade organization started in 1868 among Wyoming cattle ranchers and businessmen to standardize and organize the cattle and trade industry but quickly grew into a political force that is often referred to as the "de facto territorial government" of Wyoming toward statehood, and wields great influence throughout the western states and territories.

Early into Wyoming's Territorial formation in 1868, Jon Claridge and a few other cattle men began to lobby the powerful territorial government, and befriended John A. Campbell, the first territorial governor of Wyoming who served from 1869 to 1875. During March 1871, Claridge sponsored the first organization of cattlemen in the territory Under the TSC Trading Company... and shortly after that, he began to organize mercantile owners, railroad suppliers, arms and ammunition manufacturers; with the TSC Trading Company growing and morphing into what he would name as the Wyoming Tradesmen Association, with himself as president of this Association. When the second legislature assembled at Cheyenne in November 1871, the Governor called a simultaneous meeting of the stock growers and tradesmen in the WTA in a joint session held in the hall of the house of representatives, with Claridge as guest speaker.

The WTA, under Claridge’s leadership, focused primarily on stock-growing and railroading, but held the tradesmen in a supporting role. The WTA organized roundups, scheduled cattle shipments, and tracked cattle brands, but was also active in eliminating cattle rustling. Though Claridge, himself, was charged as castle rustler, falsifying brand records and counts, and eventually found innocent of all charges. The WTA then hired a number of professional detectives whose job it was to prevent and punish cattle thieves. Many of those *supposed thieves* never made it to the courts; and their whereabouts never discovered. most likely, they became members of the gang, a crime syndicate of the early days, called Yellow Sashes.

While Wyoming is transitioning from a territory toward statehood, the WTA is one of the few large-scale organizations that wields any type of authority in the territory. WTA members also form the core of the infamous Claridge Club, located in Wyoming's territorial capital city. It was founded primarily by young men from prominent east coast, British, and European families and became one of the wealthiest and most exclusive establishments on the frontier. The membership not only lavishly entertains socialites, celebrities, and foreign dignitaries at the club, but also is highly instrumental in molding the territory's early political, economic, and social infrastructures.

The WTA holds a quasi-governmental status and is very influential in shaping Wyoming's territorial government and statutes. Also, in that respect, there are four members of WTA in the U.S. Congress, as well as several governors and the majority of state legislators that are members in the association

While often accused of secrecy and heavy-handedness, the WTA nonetheless keeps extremely detailed records, paperwork, minutes of meetings, and preserves nearly all correspondence to and from the association. The number of letters alone is estimated to be in excess of 5,000, while dozens of boxes exist containing paperwork and other records. The overwhelming majority of records pertain solely to cattle industry organization tasks (such as brand registration, the tracking of cattle shipments, etc.) and underscore the day-to-day importance of the industry association in addition to the political role it also played.

But throughout investigations by Federal Marshals, there could be found no proof, only suspicions, of foul play or illicit involvements by certain parties.