airstream history of the land yacht

We’re fighting to restore access to 500,000+ books in court this week. Join us!

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Airstream : the history of the land yacht

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

cut off text

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

40 Previews

4 Favorites

Better World Books

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

PDF access not available for this item.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station42.cebu on March 1, 2023

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

Site search

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Historic Homes
• Home Ownership
• Renting a Home
• Homes for Sale
• Tiny Living
• Home Tech Tips
• Interior Design

Filed under:

Remembering Airstream’s fanciest trailer: the Land Yacht

The nautically-themed trailer is out of production, but its memory lives on in other Airstream models

Airstream trailers have been nicknamed a lot of things: the Silver Bullet, a Toaster-on-Wheels, and even the Silver Twinkie. But the now iconic American aluminum trailer—especially its largest models—has also been known as a “land yacht,” thanks to its high-end design reminiscent of the largest ships on the sea.

Airstream lived up to this title in 2014 when it debuted what it called “the most luxurious Airstream ever conceived.” The special edition model—the Land Yacht 28 —boasted three rooms and was designed with the help of Mauro Micheli, head designer at yacht design firm Officina Italiana Design , with cabinetry from the Italian firm Tecnoform.

All of that impressive pedigree meant one thing for the Land Yacht: It was fancy. Designed to resemble a luxury watercraft, the 28-foot trailer slept six and came with boat-deck plank flooring, LED lighting, and Corian countertops. The master bedroom boasted a pillow top queen mattress, a 30-inch flatscreen, and plenty of under-the-bed storage.

The technology and decor was also first class. A powered pedestal table moved the dining room table out of the way to free up space, and a powered outdoor awning made shade accessible. The interior came in two color options, dark wood and cream or a lighter wood with dark grey seating fabric.

The Land Yacht started at $146,362 and because it was a special edition model, it had limited production.

“It doesn’t come down to how many Special Edition units we sell, it’s about creating truly unique models that allow our team, and those we partner with a creative outlet to try new ideas,” said Bryan Melton, General Manager of travel trailers at Airstream.

“When you remove certain constraints, you allow engineers and designers to maximize their creativity. The results are truly special, like the Land Yacht, which continue to make strong statements within Airstream’s prolific history.”

Not long after the debut of the Land Yacht, Airstream took many of that model’s favorite qualities and added them to the remodeled Classic trailer and their new line of Class-B luxury touring coaches . Today, the Land Yacht is still on the product page of Airstream’s website , but according to a reputable Airstream dealer in Colorado, the only Land Yachts still left for sale are in Canada.

For many Airstream fanatics, the Land Yacht will go down as one of the fanciest—and best designed—trailers in the company’s history. Take a 360-degree tour, over here .

Next Up In Outdoors

• How to pick the best outdoor furniture at any budget
• Why we’re drawing on our sidewalks again
• The city dweller’s guide to gardening
• In the coronavirus crisis, who gets to be outside?
• The architect who’s confronting climate change
• The urban designers who bring the community in

Image Unavailable

• To view this video, download Flash Player

Follow the author

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht Paperback – Feb. 1 2000

• Print length 144 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Chronicle Books
• Publication date Feb. 1 2000
• Reading age 13 years and up
• Dimensions 27.31 x 1.91 x 24.13 cm
• ISBN-10 0811824713
• ISBN-13 978-0811824712
• See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Product description

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books (Feb. 1 2000)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0811824713
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0811824712
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 562 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 27.31 x 1.91 x 24.13 cm
• #103 in Classic Cars (Books)
• #130 in Architectural Photography (Books)
• #936 in Pop Culture Art

About the author

Bryan burkhart.

Bryan Burkhart is a print and digital designer & art director with 15+ years experience. As a print designer he has designed and co-authored several monographs including AIRSTREAM, The History of the Land Yacht (Chronicle Books), PREFAB and TRAVEL TRAILER, A Visual History of Mobile America. (Gibbs Smith, Publisher), SPA and CHEAP HOTELS (Taschen).

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 77%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 15%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 5%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 1%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 3%
• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon and Our Planet
• Modern Slavery Statement
• Investor Relations
• Press Releases
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Sell on Amazon Handmade
• Advertise Your Products
• Independently Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon Cash
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns Are Easy
• Manage your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List
• Customer Service

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Interest-Based Ads
• Amazon.com.ca ULC | 40 King Street W 47th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5H 3Y2 |1-877-586-3230

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht › Customer reviews

Customer reviews.

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later., from the united states, there was a problem loading comments right now. please try again later..

• ← Previous page
• Next page →

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

ISBN: 0811824713

ISBN13: 9780811824712

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

Select Format

Select condition, recommended.

Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

Book Overview

Sleek and shiny, Airstream trailers have been turning heads on the highways since they first started caravanning across America in the 1930s. These "aluminum skinned, gleaming silver bullets" are currently enjoying a revival in popularity. Praised for their clean lines and timeless aesthetic, movie stars and design buffs are snapping up these vintage beauties. Airstream equal parts travelogue, cultural history, and biography of Wally Byam, Airstream's... Read Full Overview

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews

Lots of great information, a visual feast, along with the interesting content., it's a far cry from trailer trash . . ., superb graphics, archival photos, and historical text, popular categories.

• Teen and Young Adult
• Literature & Fiction
• Mystery & Thriller
• Sci-fi & Fantasy
• Large Print Books
• Rare & Collectible Books
• ShareBookLove
• Educator Benefits
• Librarian Benefits
• e-Gift Cards
• View Mobile Site
• Shopping Cart
• Order History

Partnerships

• Library Program
• Help & Support
• Shipping Costs
• Return Policy
• Website Suggestions
• Our Purpose
• Social Responsibility
• Testimonials

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht Paperback – 1 Feb. 2000

• Print length 144 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Chronicle Books
• Publication date 1 Feb. 2000
• Dimensions 27.31 x 1.91 x 24.13 cm
• ISBN-10 0811824713
• ISBN-13 978-0811824712
• See all details

Product description

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books; 1st edition (1 Feb. 2000)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0811824713
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0811824712
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 27.31 x 1.91 x 24.13 cm
• 760 in Automotive Technology
• 868 in Automotive Pictorial
• 1,904 in Automobile Engineering

About the author

Bryan burkhart.

Bryan Burkhart is a print and digital designer & art director with 15+ years experience. As a print designer he has designed and co-authored several monographs including AIRSTREAM, The History of the Land Yacht (Chronicle Books), PREFAB and TRAVEL TRAILER, A Visual History of Mobile America. (Gibbs Smith, Publisher), SPA and CHEAP HOTELS (Taschen).

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 77%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 15%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 5%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 1%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 77% 15% 5% 1% 3% 3%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• UK Modern Slavery Statement
• Sustainability
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell on Amazon Handmade
• Sell on Amazon Launchpad
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect and build your brand
• Associates Programme
• Fulfilment by Amazon
• Seller Fulfilled Prime
• Advertise Your Products
• Independently Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Instalments by Barclays
• The Amazon Barclaycard
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Payment Methods Help
• Shop with Points
• Top Up Your Account
• Top Up Your Account in Store
• COVID-19 and Amazon
• Track Packages or View Orders
• Delivery Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Amazon Mobile App
• Customer Service
• Accessibility

• Conditions of Use & Sale
• Privacy Notice
• Cookies Notice
• Interest-Based Ads Notice

• Sign in
• My Account
• Basket  

Items related to Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

Stock Image

View Larger Image

Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

Burkhart, bryan; hunt, david.

• 4.05 4.05 out of 5 stars 59 ratings by Goodreads

From GoldBooks , Denver, CO, U.S.A.

View this seller's items

30 Day Return Policy

About this Item

New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0811824713

Contact seller

Report this item

Bibliographic Details

Title: Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Publication Date: 2000

Binding: Paperback

Condition: new

About this title

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Payment Methods accepted by seller

• Travel Trailers
• Touring Coaches
• Merchandise & Supplies
• Live Riveted

Your Airstream Story

A Land Yacht, not just by name

-Mark Twain

Airstream over the years has used plenty of nautical names in our product lines. A few include Clipper, Land Yacht, Liner, Caravel, Trade Wind, and Flying Cloud. Even the interior structure walls are fashioned after bulkheads.

As a young man, Wally Byam was drawn to the seas. In joining the Seaman’s Union, he sailed the South Seas.

Tahiti in Wally’s first visit wass a tropical, uncultivated, natural paradise. Wally had fond memories from his youth and his first visit to Tahiti.  Memories that he shared with others.

Prior to the 1959 Airstream Wally Byam African Caravan, he and his wife Stella sailed for Tahiti. Unlike today where there is jet service to the Polynesian Paradise, in 1958 Tahiti remained very similar to the first time Wally visited the islands.

This 1958 trip gave Wally a well-deserved vacation, prior to going to Africa.

Airstream’s benefits from Wally’s love in seafaring are many. Sleek construction parallel to the finest yachts, compactness utilizing every nook and cranny for comfortable living and storage.

Truly, Airstream is a Land Yacht. Yachts sail the oceans and Airstreams journey on the world’s byways and back roads.

Tags: Throwback Thursday , history

Recent Articles

Archived articles.

• May 2014 (3)
• April 2014 (4)
• March 2014 (8)
• February 2014 (6)
• January 2014 (6)
• December 2013 (4)
• November 2013 (7)
• October 2013 (2)
• September 2013 (2)
• August 2013 (5)
• May 2013 (5)
• April 2013 (4)
• March 2013 (2)
• March 2011 (3)
• February 2011 (3)
• January 2011 (2)

Articles by Category

• A Riveted Life (4)
• African Adventure (4)
• Airstream (25)
• Airstream Life (3)
• Alternative Uses (1)
• Friends of Airstream (1)
• history (9)
• Infographic (1)
• Land Yacht Concept (2)
• Lifestyle (7)
• Live Riveted (9)
• Press Release (2)
• Product (6)
• Things We Love (2)
• Throwback Thursday (22)
• Travel Trailer (7)
• full warranty
• legal notice
• 1.937.596.6111

© 2016 Airstream, Inc. | a division of Thor Industries, Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Posted 2024-08-18 16:30

Contact Information:

2001 Airstream Land Yacht XC 360 - $41,000 (Smithville)

QR Code Link to This Post

post id: 7776723773

posted: 2024-08-18 16:30

♥ best of [ ? ]

refresh the page.

Oops! Looks like we're having trouble connecting to our server.

Refresh your browser window to try again.

Product Key Features

• Book Title Airstream : the History of the Land Yacht
• Number of Pages 144 Pages
• Language English
• Publication Year 2000
• Topic Automotive / General, Automotive
• Illustrator Yes
• Genre Transportation, Technology & Engineering
• Author Bryan Burkhart, David Hunt
• Format Trade Paperback
• Item Height 0.8 in
• Item Weight 29.3 Oz
• Item Length 9.5 in
• Item Width 10.8 in

Additional Product Features

• Intended Audience Trade
• LCCN 99-039938
• Dewey Edition 21
• Reviews Adventure is where you find it any place, every place, except at home in the rocking chair.Wally Byam, creator of the Airstream, Adventure is where you find it any place, every place, except at home in the rocking chair. Wally Byam, creator of the Airstream -- -, Adventure is where you find it any place, every place, except at home in the rocking chair. Wally Byam, creator of the Airstream
• Grade From Eighth Grade
• Dewey Decimal 629.226
• Grade To College Graduate Student
• Synopsis Sleek and shiny, Airstream trailers have been turning heads on the highways since they first started caravanning across America in the 1930s. These "aluminum skinned, gleaming silver bullets" are currently enjoying a revival in popularity. Praised for their clean lines and timeless aesthetic, movie stars and design buffs are snapping up these vintage beauties. Airstream equal parts travelogue, cultural history, and biography of Wally Byam, Airstream's charismatic inventorcelebrates the trailer's enduring appeal as an icon of simple, aerodynamic living. A dazzling array of images tell the story of how Byam, the father of modern trailer travel, created less a product than an entire culture. From the Eiffel Tower to the pyramids of Giza, from the Acropolis to the Golden Gate Bridge, Airstream caravans continue to travel to the far reaches of the earth. Amazing photographs from the Airstream archives document this metallic nomad's significant place in the history of design, from its streamlined origins to its current vogue. Airstream has always been synonymous with the freedom of the open road. Today the dream lives on., Sleek and shiny, Airstream trailers have been turning heads on the highways since they first started caravanning across America in the 1930s. These "aluminum skinned, gleaming silver bullets" are currently enjoying a revival in popularity. Praised for their clean lines and timeless aesthetic, movie stars and design buffs are snapping up these vintage beauties. Airstream equal parts travelogue, cultural history, and biography of Wally Byam, Airstream's charismatic inventorcelebrates the trailer's enduring appeal as an icon of simple, aerodynamic living. A dazzling array of images tell the story of how Byam, the father of modern trailer travel, created less a product than an entire culture. From the Eiffel Tower to the pyramids of Giza, from the Acropolis to the Golden Gate Bridge, Airstream caravans continue to travel to the far reaches of the earth. Amazingphotographs from the Airstream archives document this metallic nomad's significant place in the history of design, from its streamlined origins to its current vogue. Airstream has always been synonymous with the freedom of the open road. Today the dream lives on.
• LC Classification Number TL297.B77 2000

HISTORY OF AIRSTREAM TRAILERS

Very informative book on Airstream trailers. Now I only wish I could afford one.

My review on the Airstream book

I decided to buy the book "Airstream" by David Hunt because of our purchase of a new Airstream, Safari camper. I wanted to know the history of this great American camper now in production for 75 years. I enjoyed reading it, it goes into great detail about the man that designed and built the first one in 1936 and all the changes and improvements over the years.

If you love Airstreams, you'll love this book. The 50's ads alone are worth the price.

David Walliams History Nonfiction Paperbacks Books

History nonfiction trade paperbacks books, history paperback textbook, trade paperbacks, trade paperbacks books, history nonfiction books paperbacks books.

Posted 2024-08-17 07:21

Contact Information:

1973 Airstream International Land Yacht (Sovereign) 31 feet - $3,500 (Granville, VT)

QR Code Link to This Post

post id: 7776263569

posted: 2024-08-17 07:21

♥ best of [ ? ]

refresh the page.

1973 Airstream International Land Yacht (Sovereign) 31 feet - rvs -...

1973 Airstream International Land Yacht (Sovereign), 31 feet long, twin rear bath While most of this vintage Airstream is in good condition, a recent roof leak caused floor damage in two places in...

Posted 2024-08-18 11:39

Contact Information:

1967 airstream land yacht caravel, Bambi, 17 foot - $15,500 (Lake Wales, Florida)

QR Code Link to This Post

post id: 7776611221

posted: 2024-08-18 11:39

♥ best of [ ? ]

refresh the page.

1967 Airstream for sale by owner - Lake Wales, FL - craigslist

1967 airstream land yacht caravel, Bambi, 17 foot Cold climate control, air conditioning, fully self-contained stove, oven microwave electric fridge, heat furnace, hot water tank water pump good...

Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

How the Great Depression Fueled a Grassroots Movement to Create a New State Called Absaroka

In the 1930s, disillusioned farmers and ranchers fought to carve a 49th state out of northern Wyoming, southeastern Montana and western South Dakota

Eli Wizevich

It was early 1935, and things were miserable in the United States. The soil was dry , the banks had crashed , and jobs were few and far between. Things were miserable in the proposed state of Absaroka , too. In fact, that’s how Absaroka (pronounced ab-SOR-ka) got its start in the first place.

Talk of carving out a 49th state (Alaska and Hawaii had yet to join the Union) from northern Wyoming, southeastern Montana and western South Dakota first made the front page on March 2, 1935, the same day that neighboring headlines in the Montana-based Daily Inter Lake announced a litany of bad news: “Relief Bill Deadlock Is Unbroken,” “Struggling Factions in Wage Tilt Await ‘Real’ Concessions’” and “Insurgent Forces Are on the Run in Greece.”

The world was going wrong, it seemed. Although politicians in the would-be secessionist states had begrudgingly accepted the New Deal funds that promised material improvements, this money barely made it to the sparsely populated, isolated corners of the three states.

Discontent flared in Sheridan, Wyoming, a city roughly halfway between Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore , and nearly 300 miles from Cheyenne, the state capital.

“A person living in Sheridan or any other northeastern Wyoming town must enter other states to reach his own state capital by train,” a local told the Daily Inter Lake . “For many years, this portion of the state was regarded as an orphan or stepchild.”

Feeling helpless and ignored by their state government, frustrated farmers, ranchers and other Sheridan residents coalesced around the idea of secession: leaving Wyoming and allying with nearby communities to start their own state.

The state would be called Absaroka, and Sheridan would be its capital. Supporters of the grassroots movement went about roping other disaffected citizens into their project, attracting varying levels of support in the years leading up to World War II.

In the end, however, Absaroka failed. Early commentators predicted correctly that the effort would “never get beyond the realm of conversation.”

But the view shared in 2022 by Wyoming newspaper columnist Brian Beauvais, that Absaroka might be remembered (when it’s remembered at all) as “just an outlet for jaded cowboys to blow off steam and perform cheap political theater during tough economic times,” ignores the depth of the hard times and the people who found escape and purpose, albeit misplaced, in the promises of the movement.

“[They] weren’t fooling around,” Alan Simpson , a former Wyoming senator whose relatives were involved in the Absaroka campaign, told the New York Times in 2008. “A lot of people thought it was silliness, but to them, it wasn’t.”

Absaroka and the politics of resentment

The secession plan, drafted by local citizens in town meetings and reprinted in syndicated newspapers nationwide, stated that Absaroka would be composed of approximately 27 counties across Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. These were the ancestral homelands of the Crow people—also known by the autonym Absaroka, or “children of the long-beaked bird”—until they were forced onto reservations after the Plains Wars of the 1870s. (Effectively no thought, voice or notice was given to Indigenous people in the debates over Absaroka, which would have encompassed the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in southern Montana.)

Under the Absaroka proposal, Wyoming would be practically split in half. The northern portion of the state—including Yellowstone, Devils Tower, the Bighorn Mountains, and the deep canyons and wide plains in between—had been cut off since 1869, when the transcontinental railroad clustered power, influence and money in the southern cities of Cheyenne, Laramie and Green River. As the state struggled through the Great Depression , towns with state institutions like prisons, universities and mental hospitals seemed to fare much better.

Eastern Montana faced practically the same issues. “Its interests have been pretty thoroughly dominated, in a political way, by the western counties,” reported the Picket-Journal , a newspaper based in Red Lodge, a town north of Yellowstone. “No eastern Montana man has ever occupied the office of governor of Montana, or indeed any of the other principal offices.”

South Dakota was no different. “Resentment has been smoldering in the Black Hills for years against supposed discrimination on the part of the South Dakota legislature,” Indiana’s Hammond Times explained. The Dust Bowl had dried out the agricultural eastern portion of the state. In 1935, the only consistent tax revenue came from the tourism, lumber and mining industries in the Black Hills, where Mount Rushmore, an even bigger boon, was still six years away from completion .

“Legislators from eastern counties have turned toward the Black Hills industries as sources of revenue,” the Hammond Times said. “This has fanned the resentment of Black Hills residents who have struggled for years for a decent highway system that would bring tourists from the [Midwest] to enjoy the mountain scenery, fishing and hunting.”

Resentment was nearly synonymous with Absaroka. But mobilizing resentment into a viable political campaign for secession from three states was challenging.

At the time, breaking off part of one state to form a different one was nearly unprecedented. The success stories were generally more than a century old. Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, and Virginia lost Kentucky and West Virginia in 1792 and 1863, respectively. Taking sections of three separate states to form a new one was completely unheard of.

In mid-March, a constitutional law expert reasoned that Absaroka would need “to gain the consent, not only of the people of the section, but of the legislatures of South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, and of the United States Congress,” the Associated Press reported.

But none of these three states would want to lose “their choicest portions,” as Montana’s Sweet Grass News put it—land rich with aesthetic, mineral and tourist value—to a small-town separatist movement made up mainly of ranchers and miners. 

The Absaroka plan was impractical, but it gained national media coverage and forced state governments to pay greater attention to the infrastructural and political demands of their hinterlands.

“It was in 1935 that more infrastructure was added than at any time since the ‘ hell-on-wheels ’ days of the transcontinental railroad,” writes historian Phil Roberts in his Wyoming Almanac . “New schools, courthouses, city halls [and] post offices went up in towns all over Wyoming.”

By 1936, the indignation had subsided, and coverage of the movement declined with it. Absaroka, the “ dreadful name ” chosen for the proposed state, in the view of journalist Arthur Brisbane, mostly returned to its other meanings: the Crow, Montana’s Absaroka National Forest , and a ship called the Absaroka that passed through the Panama Canal en route from New York to San Francisco every few months.

Absaroka’s revival

In 1908, A.R. Swickard left his home state of Illinois to play minor league baseball in Sheridan. He worked as a contractor for his day job, unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1927, and became a city commissioner in charge of municipal water and roads in 1931.

Although he passed through Sheridan’s world of local politics for a few years, handling contracts with the Civilian Conservation Corps and other New Deal relief programs that the 1935 Absaroka movement had helped bring to the region, Swickard only gained significant attention when, in early 1939, he circulated a petition to have Sheridan County join Montana because it had been “forgotten by Wyoming” once again.

Resentment flared back up. Early support for Swickard’s idea was “so wide and sincere,” he said , that local businessmen approached him and offered to finance a revival of the 1935 plan to create an entirely new state. The promise of Absaroka was born again, and Swickard was the one who would try to see it through.

Just like four years earlier, however, no realistic legislative path forward existed for Absaroka. News of Swickard’s proposal for a 49th state made it to Capitol Hill, where a legislator declared it “too preposterous to even consider.”

Unfazed, Swickard decided to prove that Absaroka was a state despite its lack of official approval or recognition. He appointed himself governor, set up a capital and cabinet in Sheridan, held a Miss Absaroka pageant, and printed 1,000 license plates that called Absaroka the “Playground of the Nation.” (His car had both Absaroka and Wyoming plates. Only one set wouldn’t get him pulled over.)

Swickard and his supporters took every chance to prove Absaroka’s legitimacy. That June, he passed along his regrets that “official duties of my great state” prevented his attendance at a roundtable meeting of the nation’s governors. When the nephew of the governor of California visited Big Timber, Montana, local papers made much ado about his connections in Hollywood, his offhand comment about making a movie called Absaroka , and his promise to “come back to Big Timber and run for the governorship at the first election,” though he reassured Swickard that he didn’t mean to step on the incumbent’s toes. In June, the crown prince of Norway visited the region, and Swickard claimed the occasion as Absaroka’s first official state visit.

These examples come off as humorous. The Wyoming newspapers, which referred to Absaroka’s “governor” as “his excellency,” didn’t seem to take Swickard’s secession proposal too seriously.

But the people did. “It was 90 miles of dirt road to the county seat,” Helen Graham, who grew up in the Black Hills in the 1930s, told the New York Times in 2008. “There was just nothing there. What Swickard did was exciting.”

The state government, now making national headlines for neglecting a large swath of its own territory, was willing to negotiate.

Eventually, Swickard met with Nels H. Smith , the governor of “our sister state to the south,” as he called Wyoming. “We Absarokans are a peace-loving lot,” he assured Smith, “and while we think that we really need the state of Absaroka, we are not inclined to revolution.”

According to a 1941 Works Projects Administration book called Wyoming: A Guide to Its History, Highways and People , “The ensuing publicity was generally regarded as bad for the state government, and most claims were adjusted to the satisfaction of the Absarokians.”

Absaroka’s legacies

For supporters of the movement, attention from the state was tantamount to statehood, and, in the tense two years before the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the Absaroka dream all but ended.

Swickard kept his post as a city commissioner of Sheridan, and he ran for governor of Wyoming in 1942. He couldn’t create his own state, so he pledged to “help the common man by taking over the governorship.” If elected, he declared, “I will take the oath of office in overalls and will keep them on until the great state of Wyoming is put back on the map and something is done for the common people.”

Swickard dropped out of the race after a month and a half, endorsing the incumbent governor, Smith, who had given Absaroka concessions several years prior. He still clung onto his “overalls” populism. “I am going to get right in and help to re-elect you as governor of this state,” Swickard said , “and I am going to wear my overalls while I am doing it.”

But scandals dogged the failed gubernatorial candidate. He didn’t even make it to Election Day. In September, a Sheridan civic group called on Swickard to resign his city post for “neglect of duty, financial irresponsibility and unbecoming conduct,” including frequent trips out of state.

A few months earlier, state officials had scolded Swickard for profiling and accosting Frank Ikuno, a Wyoming-born Japanese American radio engineer who had been assigned to a government project in Sheridan.

Swickard “acted on his own initiative” and called the governor’s office “to protest against sending a man of Japanese ancestry into Sheridan on such a mission” so soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Montana’s Great Falls Leader reported.

State officials could only sing Ikuno’s praises for his years of expert service and express their regret over the incident.

By mid-October 1942, Swickard had handed his resignation to the mayor and “left Sheridan for southern Arizona to enter government construction work,” the Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Little else was heard of the disgraced governor of Absaroka, at least in Wyoming. Down in Arizona, he made local news now and then. After some petty thieves took his carpentry tools at a worksite in March 1945, for instance, Swickard complained that he was “fighting the same kind of enemy” as his wife and son, both of whom were serving in the American armed forces in the recently liberated Philippines.

Swickard died of a stroke in Arizona in 1947. The Montana Billings Gazette remembered the 67-year-old as “a colorful character in Sheridan politics.” Still, he’d never broken out of the minor leagues, either in baseball or life.

Absaroka lived on only in scraps of information and memory. In 1977, a commemorative “Absaroka dollar” coin sold for 25 cents at a Denver curiosity shop, and several residents of Decker, Montana, made the Gazette by trying to revive the Absaroka proposal.

One proponent first put the odds of secession at 1 in 500. After collecting 50 signatures on a petition, he improved the odds to one in seven or eight. “I think we’ll at least get it to Congress,” the Decker man said .

Marie Sanchez, a chief judge on the Northern Cheyenne reservation, which would have been within the bounds of the new Absaroka, disagreed. “I can’t see their reasoning—in fact, it’s a very elementary mentality,” she said. “I guess I don’t have to talk about 200 years of infringements on [Indigenous] rights.”

Ultimately, the Absaroka revival went nowhere.

“The Absaroka dream has no better chance of becoming reality today than it did decades ago,” a Gazette columnist wrote in 1984. “But the proposal still appeals to many ‘orphans’”—all those who feel left behind.

“The Absaroka movement fell along the wayside,” wrote Craig Johnson , author of the Walt Longmire mystery books, which are set in a fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, in a 2014 essay for Cowboys & Indians magazine. “But the allure of escape still permeates the region today.”

Out in the Black Hills, on long plains and gray peaks, and in all the small towns that harbor the ancestral memory of secession, Absaroka is still just a state of mind.

Get the latest History stories in your inbox?

Click to visit our Privacy Statement .

Eli Wizevich | | READ MORE

Eli Wizevich is a reporting intern for Smithsonian . He studied history at the University of Chicago and previously wrote for the El Paso Times .