Named for the English coal port town, Newcastle-on-Tyne, this Weston County seat is in the heart of one of Wyoming’s best coal reserves at the Cambria Mines. In addition to sitting on plenty of ?black diamonds,? the economy has been built up by ?black gold? (oil) as well, and signs hail it as the ?Gateway to the Black Hills.? Lumber and livestock also provide local employment.

The Newcastle area was first settled in 1875 by a group of army engineers, surveyors, and researchers led by Lt. Col. R. I. Dodge and Professor Walter P. Jenney. They built the Jenney Stockade, and set up a station for the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage. In 1888, a community named Tubb Town sprung up, made up mostly of saloons. When the railroad swung further west, Newcastle took the place of Tubb Town, and the wilder elements drifted elsewhere.