Cool FindsThis 120-Year-Old Police Docket Documented Crimes Like Reckless Horse RidingDiscovered in a thrift store, the historic docket lists incidents that occurred in the town of Casper, Wyoming, in 1904including reckless riding [of a horse] and keeping a house of prostitution The 315-page police docket from 1904 is bound in red leather with gold accents. Wyoming Rescue MissionStaff at a Wyoming thrift shop were sifting through donations when they came across a large 315-page book bound in red leather. When they opened it up and began flipping through the pages, they realized they had stumbled upon something special.The book was a 120-year-old police docket from the town of Casper. In 1904, police officers had filled its empty pages with details of various crimesfrom riding a horse recklessly (which resulted in a $4 fine) to running a house of prostitution (a $100 fine).Recently, someone donated the book to Caspers Rescued Treasures Thrift Store. The shops leaders returned it to the Casper Police Department during a ceremony in late January, per astatement from Wyoming Rescue Mission.It was definitely amusing to read some of those descriptions of crimes back in the day, Scauti Hillman, the thrift stores assistant manager, tells Wyoming News Nows John Habershaw.The docket is filled with oral incident reports, which were short speeches that police officers made before a judge when they suspected a crime had been committed, reportsYour Wyoming Links Duncan Cowan.Each record included the date, the suspects name, the alleged crime and other relevant information, such as whether the suspect pleaded guilty to the crime or paid a fine. Some suspects names appear multiple times throughout the book.The short narratives offer a glimpse of the untold stories from the towns history, says Keith McPheeters, Caspers chief of police.It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall back then, he tells Your Wyoming Link.Despite its age, the book is in good conditionthough it does have some water damage and mold spots on the back cover and a few pages. The red leather is decorated with gold stitching and symmetrical ridges, while the pages inside are well-preserved, with very few rips or tears. The book appears to have all of its original pages, which are covered with tidy penmanship.Eventually, the police department hopes to restore the binding and put the book on display alongside other pieces of the citys law enforcement history.Located in east-central Wyoming on the North Platte River, Casper was officially established in the 1880s. But white settlers had begun arriving decades earlier, after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Free Homestead Act in 1862. Designed to encourage Americans to move west, the law allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land. Caspar is located near the intersection of several pioneer trails, as well as along the Pony Express route.During its first years, Casper was a rough-and-tumble town, historian Rebecca A. Hunt wrote for WyoHistory.org in 2014. The west side of Center Street featured numerous saloons and the raucous culture that went with them. Early law enforcement tried to keep order among rowdy cowboys.Some of Caspers earliest settlers were cattle ranchers and sheepherders. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, oil became Caspers main industrygiving rise to the Oil City nickname that persists today.Casper has evolved since 1904. But as the police chief points out, familiar themes can be found throughout the docket.When you open it up and you read itdrunk [and] disorderly, crimes of that natureits the same thing that our officers are responding to today, so not much changes in the world, McPheeters tells Wyoming News Now. But it is an interesting snapshot of a period of time during a colorful part of Caspers history.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: American History, Cool Finds, Crime, Historical Documents, History, Horses, Law, Oil, Westward Expansion, Wyoming