Mondell, Frank W. (Frank Wheeler), 1860-1939

Frank Wheeler Mondell (1860-1939), a Republican politician, came to northeastern Wyoming in 1887 as a coal prospector and developer of the Cambria mines. He was a founder of Newcastle, Wyoming, and served as its first mayor from 1889-1895. Mondell was elected to the first Wyoming Senate in 1890. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 54th (1895-1897) and 56th-67th Congresses (1899-1923), where one of his primary interests was public land issues. Mondell was majority floor leader during his last two terms. His autobiography, "My Story," was serialized in the "Wyoming State Tribune" in 1935-1936.

Frank W. Mondell was born 6 November 1860 in St. Louis Missouri. He settled in Wyoming in 1887 and was a Wyoming politician, coal prospector, developer of the Cambria mines and oil property in what is now the Newcastle, Wyoming area. He took an active role in establishing the town of Newcastle and served as Newcastle's first mayor. Mondell was elected State Senator to the first and second legislatures, 1890-1893, and served as president of the Wyoming State Senate in 1893. In 1894 Mondell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and then defeated for re-election in 1896. After serving as assistant commissioner of the General Land Office, he was again elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in1898, a position he held until 1923. He served as Republican House Majority Leader for the 66th and 67th Congresses. After an unsuccessful candidacy for the U.S. Senate, he retired from Congress in 1923. He was appointed director of the War Finance Corporation from 1923-1925, and thereafter practiced law in Washington D.C.. He died in Washington D.C. on 6 August 1939.