Tuesday, January 20, 2026 |
Photo – Ferguson Building – Bigfoot99 file photo
Rawlins officials continue working to revitalize the Ferguson Building.
In 1895, J.E. Hugus and Company built a new general store and First National Bank branch at the northeast corner of 5th and Cedar Streets in Rawlins, the former site of the Carbon County Jail. Six years later, in 1901, a second story was added to accommodate the Masonic Lodge.
The sandstone faced building was purchased by Ferguson Mercantile, the largest general‑merchandise business in western Wyoming at the time, in 1912, and was operated as a general store until the late 1960s. After the closure of the Ferguson Mercantile store, the building remained largely unused for decades, eventually falling into disrepair. By the early 2000s, the Hugus-Ferguson Building was considered a “dangerous building” by the City of Rawlins.
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners purchased the building in 2013 for $150,000 with plans to move the Carbon County Museum into the structure. However, the cost of making the building safe for occupancy was estimated to be anywhere from tens of thousands to more than a million dollars. In September of 2020, the Museum Board of Directors formally determined that the relocation was no longer feasible, and in 2022 transferred ownership to the Rawlins Downtown Development Authority, which continues to own the building today.
In April of 2023, Rawlins officials submitted four sites to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality for Brownfields consideration: the Pink Motel, a property on Pine Street, the old Strand Theater, and the Ferguson Building.
Created by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Brownfields Program provides financial assistance to municipalities dealing with properties that have known or suspected environmental contamination. As part of this program, the federal government awarded Rawlins $500,000 to assess whether any of the listed sites are contaminated.
Speaking to the Rawlins City Council last April, Downtown Development Executive Director Pam Thayer said Ayers and Associates, the firm overseeing the Brownfields study, explored options to convert the Ferguson Building into either a hotel or an apartment complex. Although the study identified a need for additional housing, Thayer said she advocated for a hotel because it would generate more tax revenue.
At the January 6th Rawlins City Council meeting. Thayer reported that the Downtown Development Authority Board received the revised feasibility study. The DDA Executive Director said the Board has questions that must be addressed before renovations can begin. Any decision on the future of the Ferguson Building must then be approved by the governing body.
Thayer also updated the governing body on the former Wyoming Bar, located at 413 West Front Street. In September, the Rawlins City Council approved the submission of a $507,000 Wyoming Community Development Authority grant request. If approved, the funding will be used to demolish the 137‑year‑old structure.
The Wyoming Community Development Authority has allocated $3.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for projects that address blight, affordable housing, and job‑creation needs. The WCDA will meet on January 28th and 29th to determine the grant recipients.
