2025 Reunion

Christenot Family Reunion near Buffalo, Wyoming

Join us July 24-27, 2025, at the Kearney Community Hall along the Bozeman Trail.

The next Christenot Family Reunion will be held July 24-27, 2025, near Buffalo, Wyoming.  The emphasis of this reunion is to learn about that portion of the Bozeman Trail that our forbearers traversed in the Christenot  Wagon Train in 1866.  Northcentral Wyoming is a favorite for lovers of history, natural beauty, and outdoor fun, and it’s hoped that faraway cousins will find this destination an easier trip than other reunions.  Scroll below for maps of the Bozeman Trail and Wyoming.

We’ll gather at the Kearney Community Hall located 12 miles north of Buffalo and 18 miles south of Sheridan.  This renovated hall, with a deep, wrap-around porch, is along the Bozeman Trail on an acre of land near Little Piney Creek. We’ll gaze across miles of open territory, with scattered ranch buildings, to the Big Horn Mountains four miles directly west, and see the land where the emigrants and freight trains snaked along the Bozeman Trail from the left, stopped near Fort Phil Kearny about half mile to the west, and continued northwest as far as the eye can see.  We’ll sit and soak up that view!  And remark upon the fact that our Christenot kin stopped right there, as noted in the diary of the journey by Thomas Creigh (“Cree”) clerk and leader of the second wing of the wagon train:
 
August 25th, Saturday –  Broke corral at 4:45 a.m., corraled at 7:30 a.m. on 1st Piney Fork (Little Piney Creek), close to “Fort Philip Kearny” Walked to Fort (1 ½ miles) met Jeff, Megeath, and Dr. Horton.  Train moved across 2d Piney Fork and corraled at 5 p.m.

Bozeman Trail Review: The Christenot Wagon Train, with 52 wagons and 235 yoke of oxen left Nebraska City on June 23, 1866, and arrived at the Christenot Mill, south of Virginia City, Montana, on October 4th.  This was a freight train, carrying heavy equipment for crushing gold ore to extract gold, and included seven members of the Christenot family.  They had followed the Overland Trail amongst emigrant trains that were headed farther west.  Our train then turned northward and first drove onto the Bozeman Trail at Douglas, Wyoming, on August 14th, 1866. 

This reunion will focus on the area north of Pumpkin Buttes which the Christenot train passed going northwest toward Fort Reno on August 19th, 1866, and where they first sighted the Bighorn Mountains, until August 30th, 1866, when they passed into Montana Territory. We will drive along and visit portions of the trail where they made their stops and camps.

1866 marked the last year the wagon trains were allowed along the Bozeman Trail as the Native people became increasingly irate over the encroachment of their land.  Skirmishes took place before and after the Christenot Train journeyed through, with fear, encounters, and troubles noted in the Creigh Diary.  Red Cloud’s War (1866-1868) began.

The folks at the museum at the site of Fort Phil Kearny (spelled without the final ‘e’) are thrilled to hear about our reunion and are ready to provide tours of the grounds, evening speakers including someone with a Native perspective, and historical demonstrators. Consider joining the Bozeman Trail Association to support their efforts.

Vacation Time

Vacation Time: Infrastructure for the historical tourist is all in place with road markers and signs along remote portions of the Bozeman Trail, linked by museums with pertinent exhibits.  There is also plenty to do for the modern-minded visitor from visits to town, camping and hiking in the nearby mountains, and playing in rivers and lakes.  Buffalo is twelve miles south of the reunion site at Kearney Community Hall and Sheridan is eighteen miles north. Lodging, campgrounds, guest ranches, and vacation rentals can be found in those towns or in small communities between them.

Buffalo, Wyoming, is a small, historic-looking town of 4,400 people.  (Think two-story brick and stone buildings of the 1880s, not the wooden ones of 1860s Virginia City.) Nestled within the old-fashioned downtown are the ice cream store, sports & outdoor rec, toy store, clothing, quilting, and old-time hotels and restaurants showing off their storied history. 

The Johnson County Fair, just one mile from downtown, will be happening when we are there!  Sadly, their rodeos take place the next weekend, but families do love a fair.  The Bozeman Trail crosses through the town and the Trail is visible in the open range and flowing fields both north and south.

Reserve Your Lodging Now!

We are not kidding!  Reserving your lodging now is the key to a successful reunion!    This area is super busy in the summer, so plan ahead and beat the crowds!

Review our partial list below of area hotels and campgrounds and get something held, even if you’re on the fence about attending.  You have time to firm-up plans, and you can always cancel.  We suggest calling the hotels and campgrounds, as opposed to booking online, to make your reservation for July 24-27, 2025.  This “Discover Buffalo” site has a page with these and more Hotels, Guest Ranches and Campgrounds.

Hotels:  Managers at area hotels note that regardless of the Johnson County Fair or Longmire Days, area hotels fill up far in advance for the summer because of tourists visiting or passing through the area, especially those on their way to Yellowstone National Park.  Hold your place now at a hotel or campground in Buffalo, 12 miles south, or the larger Sheridan, 18 miles north.

Hotels

We suggest calling the hotels, as opposed to online booking, to make reservations for July 24-27, 2025. There are many Airbnb/VRBO places not listed here.

Buffalo Area – 12 miles from Kearney Community Hall
Sheridan & Big Horn

Eighteen miles north of the reunion site is the town of Sheridan, population 19,000, in Sheridan County. Explore the area via their website. Big Horn, a small community, is closer to the reunion site and has vacation rentals.

  • Historic Downtown: Visit here and look for Best Western Sheridan Center, the Nelson Inn, and Sheridan Inn.
  • South Sheridan: Easy access to the freeway and 18 mile drive to the reunion – Search your internet or here for Candlewood Suites, Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Fairfield Inn, Mill Inn, Quality Inn, and Ramada Plaza.

Camping

From campgrounds with pools, to dispersed camping in the very-close Bighorn National Forest, there are lots of options.  Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest outside of a designated campground.

  • Buffalo KOA – near both Hwy 25 and 90, next door to the Hampton Inn
  • Deer Park Campground – Near Hwy 25 & 90 in Buffalo.
  • Indian Campground – Near Hwy 25 & 90 in Buffalo, lots of tall trees.
  • Lake Stop Resort – On Lake De Smet, 8 miles from reunion site. Modest hotels, cabins, and RV sites.
  • Mountain View Motel and Campground – In town, on Hwy 16. Camping and rustic-looking cabins, some that sleep up to 6 people.
  • Bighorn National Forest – Many campgrounds starting 14 miles west of Buffalo, out Hwy 16, in the Big Horn Mountains. Use the link to explore campgrounds and cabins. Start with Middle Fork and Sourdough Campground. Reservations taken six months in advance.
  • Bighorn National Forest – Dispersed Camping: You are allowed to drive up to 300 feet off of an open road to set up camp, providing it will not result in damage to the land, is in an area that is not signed otherwise, or if restrictions are in place prohibiting that use.   
  • Bighorn Off-Road Vehicle Roads & Trails – Info & maps
  • Wyoming Campground Association – Lists of Private Campgrounds and RV Parks.

Sheridan Camping: Sheridan Bighorn KOA. Also, a list of Private and Public Campgrounds in the Sheridan area.

Forging our Own Trail

Last summer, the Christenot Legacy Council asked for cousins to rank locations that could host a reunion.  The place that received the highest interest was along the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming.  Last October, Nick Shrauger, Georgie Thurber, and Andrea Surfleet spent three days in the Buffalo area exploring all the sites, restaurants, hotels, and campgrounds, and sat for a long time at the Kearney Community Hall chatting with the local experts.  They helped to imagine outdoor games and crafts for all ages, meals at the Hall, and evening programs.  Food for lunch and snacks would be on hand because of the location between towns, allowing flexibility for daytime trips and hikes, or sitting and chatting with cousins.

The Kearney Community Hall is along Little Piney Creek and the area of the fort is visible in the distance. On July 24-27th, 2025, we’ll be sitting a spell where the Christenots stopped on along the Bozeman Trail on August 25th, 1866.

This special spot at the Kearney Community Hall ticks all the boxes for a great reunion!  Mark your calendars today and make your lodging plans soon! 

Map of the Bozeman Trail in 1866

The blue line is the approximate route of the Bozeman Trail in 1866.  Kearney Community Hall is located where the blue line crosses the yellow smudge northwest of Buffalo.  Yellow-highlighted towns have excellent museums of westward expansion.
More Bozeman Trail and Reunion 2025 Resources will be placed here soon!
Panorama of the Kearney Community Hall
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