The Book of Byron is a photo diary from 2016 that documents Byron—an artist living in Jeffrey City, a former uranium mining boomtown in central Wyoming.
At its peak in the 1970s, Jeffrey City was home to over 800 mine workers and supported a bustling community with bars, a bowling alley, a motel, and a laundromat. Today, the population hovers around 58. Located along one of the loneliest stretches of highway in the state, the town is known for its relentless winds, harsh winters, and a lingering sense of abandonment.
Amid this stark landscape, Byron has created something extraordinary. After studying pottery in Taos, New Mexico, he returned to Wyoming to be closer to his mother. He settled in a decommissioned gas station off Highway 287 and slowly transformed the crumbling structure into his dream studio: Monk King Bird Pottery. (It was meant to be named Mockingbird Pottery, he explains, until the sign painter made a typo.)
Even during its heyday, Jeffrey City was marked by isolation and instability. Mining accidents, substance abuse, and limited infrastructure were all part of life in this remote community. The town began to decline in the early 1980s after widespread layoffs, and it never fully recovered.
This photo diary is both a portrait of a place shaped by loss and reinvention, and a tribute to the resilient individuals who remain. At its center is Byron—artist, friend, and fixture of Jeffrey City.
