Simeon Leon “Sim” Thayer

Simeon “Sim” Leon Thayer was born April 10, 1889, in Indian Territory Oklahoma to Aurilla Soper Thayer and Richard Leon Thayer. In 1890 the Thayer family moved by covered wagon from Oklahoma Territory to Wyoming. From 1890 to 1903, Richard moved his family around Wyoming operating saloons and livery stables. In 1903 Richard purchased a saloon and livery stable in Cody. Sim started working in his father’s livery stables at a young age, but in 1906, at the age of 16, he got a job at the Buffalo Bill Cody Livery Stable. His job included getting horses ready for patrons, which sometimes included bucking out a bronc down Main Street. When his mother became ill he quit school to care for her until her death. His father then sold his business and moved to Nevada where he died. At the age of 19, Sim was alone. He found work on the Two Dot Ranch and later worked on Buffalo Bill Cody’s Carter Ranch and the Valley Ranch breaking a lot of riding and pack horses as well as packing into the mountains. He later homesteaded on the South Fork of the Shoshone River and operated a dude and hunting ranch from 1913 to 1940. At the height of the operation Sim had over 100 head of horses that he owned, broke, and trained.