In the early 1900s, as homesteaders flocked to eastern Wyoming, the Christian Church of Dayton, Ohio, organized a religious agricultural colony and college fourteen miles west of Lusk and named the settlement Jireh. At the heart of the community was Jireh College, a two-year liberal arts college and the first junior college in Wyoming. The cornerstone of Wilkinson Hall, the main and only college building, was laid on October 21, 1909. Classes began in January 1910, and Wilkinson Hall was ready to receive students in July 1910. The college had a small faculty and offered classes in art, the Bible, English, ethics, German, Greek, Latin, mathematics, music, and psychology. It also provided an academy or high school that for a time was the only one available to area students. Students were expected to follow strict codes of personal conduct and attend religious services. The town of Jireh grew up around the college, and from 1908 to 1920 nearly 100 people lived there. Its business district included a bank, general stores, a hotel, a mill, a newspaper, a telephone company, and a garage. Jireh’s founders prohibited intoxicating liquors, cigarettes, gambling, and prostitution within the town limits. Because the semi-arid climate was not conducive to raising crops and dry-farming methods were not widely adopted, many farmers left the area by 1920. Lack of church support and the dwindling population brought about the demise of Jireh and Jireh College. The college graduated its last class in 1920 and then closed. By 1925 most buildings in Jireh had been destroyed or sold to area residents. A few basic services remained for a time, but they also eventually disappeared, and the post office was discontinued in 1943.