About These Resources
The resources on the page showcase some of the available collections at the American Heritage Center related to Queer Studies. Visit the AHC's main LibGuide to learn more about how to use and search for more of our primary source materials, or get started with your research by looking through our finding aids on Archives West. You can get in touch with the AHC's Reference Services at 307-766-3756 or ahcref@uwyo.edu if you have questions.
The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or content in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials. Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections, as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement on potentially harmful language and content.
AHC Archival Collections
Book cover from Box 13 in the Gregory Hinton Papers.
Gregory Hinton Papers, Collection 12604
This collection contains the scripts, research files, manuscript proofs, emails, and VHS and DVD recordings of an author, filmmaker, and playwright. He was interested in documenting the experiences of gay life in the American West.
S.J. Moffat Papers, Collection 11046
Shannon (S.J.) Moffat was a trans woman reporter and free-lance writer based out of Palo Alto, CA. Along with some manuscripts of her work, this collection contains material covering Moffat's gender transition, including a diary she kept.
Leslie Waggener Oral Histories with the S.J. Moffat Family, Collection 12740
The collection contains oral history interviews conducted by Leslie Waggener (Archivist at the UW American Heritage Center) with S.J. Moffat’s family members about their experiences with her gender transition.
Beverly Seckinger Materials for “Laramie Inside Out”, Collection 12577
This collection contains the raw footage and full interviews used in Seckinger’s documentary film, “Laramie Inside Out.” It includes release forms from interviews and correspondence related to the production of the film, as well as newspapers, magazines, and color photos all relating to Matthew Shepard’s murder and the production of the film.
Matthew Shepard Collection, Collection 300014
The collection contains information about the events surrounding the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, in the fall of 1998. The material came from different sources, and includes correspondence from people in many parts of the country, news articles, fliers and posters, editorials, bulletins, and speeches.
Matthew Shepard Web Archive, Collection 300023
The collection includes websites related to Matthew Shepard and the events and issues surrounding his murder in 1998. Archived websites are available online.
Rulon F. Stacey's Matthew Shepard Memorabilia, Collection 12536
The collection contains a memory book relating to Matthew Shepard from the Poudre Valley Hospital employees, a photograph, newspaper clippings, and correspondence relating to Shepard. Matthew Shepard was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital before he died.
Spectrum Records, Collection 300518
Spectrum was a University of Wyoming student organization and club for social and political support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, and allies of the Laramie, Wyoming community and campus. Collection contains the records of the events and programs they supported.
Gladys Margaret Crane Papers, Collection 400098
The collection documents the work of Gladys Margaret Crane as a university professor in theatre and religious studies and her experience as a student at Washington State University, University of Indiana, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. This collection also includes information and publications related to topics of a lesbian workshop, lesbian and gay theatre, and a national gay and lesbian task force.
UW Gender and Women's Studies Program Materials, Collection 545021
The UW Gender and Women's Studies Program offered students the opportunity to explore issues of gender and sexuality through degrees in Gender and Women's Studies and Queer Studies. The collection includes course outlines, a diversity initiative study (2001), photographs, administrative files, and videos.
Wyoming Equality Newsletters, Collection 12592
The collection contains newsletters that document the work of United Gays & Lesbians of Wyoming and its successor organization, Wyoming Equality.
Wyoming Equality, Laramie Pridefest Oral History Interviews, Collection 300042
Collection contains interviews conducted at the first annual Laramie PrideFest, an annual festival that celebrated, honored, and supported Wyoming’s LGBTQ community.
Travis Kirchhefer Oral History, Collection 300060
Travis Kirchhefer was a lawyer for the Wyoming Attorney General and a Wyoming drag queen. The collection contains an oral history interview with Travis Kirchhefer regarding his experiences as a gay man and drag queen in Wyoming.
Bennet Hammer LGBT Clippings Collection, Collection 12716
Bennett Hammer was a gay rights advocate involved with several LGBT organizations in New Mexico and nationally. This collection contains newspaper clippings and magazine articles concerning the LGBT community in the United States from 1990-2009. It also contains articles, manuscript material, and recordings related to Bennett Hammer and the LGBT Educational Archives Project.
Donald Vining Diaries, Colleciton 10272
The Donald Vining diary collection contains edited and original diaries from the years 1926 through 1982. The diaries outline his experiences as a gay man throughout most of the 20th century. This collection contains the original, unedited diaries from 1959-1970. The remainder of the diaries in this collection are edited for publication.
Women’s History Research Center Resource Files, Collection 05879
Laura Murra founded the Women's History Research Center in 1969 in Berkeley, California. The organization collected materials to document current and historical issues relating to women. It also collected magazines, newsletters and newspapers that were published by or were about women. The Center closed in 1974 due to financial difficulties, but Murra (also known as Laura X) continued to collect resource materials.
Zackie Salmon’s Feminist and Lesbian Publications Collection, Collection 12767
This collection contains a letter, publications, and newspapers about feminist and lesbian issues from the 1970s.
AHC Digital Exhibits and Blogs
Virmuze Digital Exhibits
The American Heritage Center curated this exhibit in 2018 to complement a staged reading written by Gregory Hinton, “The Matthew Shepard Story: In Conversation with Rulon Stacey.”
AHC's Discovery History Blog
Open Chutes and Closets -- Gay Rodeo by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington
A Very Short History of Drag Queens in Laramie, Wyoming – Part One by former AHC University Archivist Irlanda Jacinto
Celebrating LGBTQ Pride: The S.J. Moffat Collection by AHC Archives Aide Morgan Walsh
Search the AHC's collections using UW Libraries QuickSearch
- University of Wyoming Libraries QuickSearchThe QuickSearch tool allows you to search all of the physical and most of the online resources through the University of Wyoming Libraries. Using this search, you can find manuscript and archival collections at the AHC as well as rare books in the AHC's Toppan Rare Books Library.
Additional search tools (such as physical card catalogs, subject/photo/biographical file indexes, etc.) are available on-site at the American Heritage Center. If you are unsuccessful in your search, please contact the Reference Services Unit for assistance, or visit us on-site. Online cataloging projects are ongoing.