May marks Historic Preservation Month and the Sheridan Community Land Trust is reviving its historical preservation easement program.
A historical preservation easement is an agreement between a property owner and a land trust and it holds the historical identity of a building, architectural feature or site. The easements also protect against changes and spread awareness.
Carrie Edinger, historical educator at the Land Trust, said these easements are different from registering a building on the National Register of Historic Places, which does give a lot of prominence to what is registered, but doesn't protect the property to the same level as an easement can.
"It gives it a certain time period or forever that that building can't be changed or torn down, so we preserve those features or building," she said.
Edinger added, if the building is in danger of being destroyed, an easement can help protect it, but it does take time to put it together.
There are two properties in Sheridan County historical preservation easements with the Land Trust. One is the Doc Huson Homestead near Clearmont, and the other is the Sheridan Inn.
Edinger said the Sheridan Inn's architectural features like the parts of the roof, the stone fireplaces, the registration desk and Buffalo Bill's bar are all included in the easement.
These easements can help acknowledge local history, she said.
"It's kind of a celebration of Sheridan County and Wyoming's state history. It's what makes us unique, these Western identities and also to remind the community and even visitors to the area of what our history is," Edinger said.
To find out if you own something that could be placed into a historical preservation easement, Edinger said she suggests starting with research or if local to Sheridan, reaching out to the Land Trust to start that conversation.
Edinger said with her permanent position and the revitalization of the program, there have been a few people interested in creating historical preservation easements in Sheridan County.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu .