Early Americans found bentonite vital to their lives. Pioneers found moistened bentonite to be an ideal lubricant for squeaky wagon wheels. The mixture was also used as a sealant for log cabin roofing. The Indians found bentonite useful as a soap.
Small
amounts of Wyoming bentonite were first commercially mined and developed in the Rock River
area during the 1880s. Newer, more substantial deposits were discovered in other parts of
Wyoming during the 1920s and the first processing plant in Wyoming was built during this
period. since that time many other processing plants have been built for the purpose of
processing Wyoming sodium bentonite.