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The Slovenski Dom, or the Slovenian National Home, was built in 1913 to serve as a public hall and meeting place for several Slovenian-American fraternal lodges in Rock Springs. For more than 80 years, the Dom has served as the social and cultural heart of Rock Springs' Slovenian community, one of the largest ethnic groups in this town that was built on the labor of immigrant coal miners. The Slovenski Dom is also a symbol of the ethnic diversity that is the hallmark of Rock Spring's civic identity. The Slovenian immigrants, along with other ethnic groups, including the Finns, Croatians, and Tyroleans, formed local chapters of national fraternal lodges or benevolent societies. In 1912, representatives of the Slovenian lodges in Rock Springs met to form a corporation, Slovenski Dom, Inc., for the purpose of constructing a building for lodge meetings and other public events. The establishment of such buildings, known as ''Slovenian National Homes,'' which accommodated the activities of the lodges and helped maintain a sense of cultural identity, was widespread in Slovenian communities throughout the United States. Rock Springs' Slovenski Dom, in fact, was one of the earliest such buildings. A unique feature of the organization's by-laws is the stipulation that the Dom was always to be known by its Slovenian name -- Slovenski Dom -- rather than the English translation of Slovenian National Home. Although there were other Slovenski Doms in the Rocky Mountain region, this is the only one in Wyoming. What makes it of particular historic value is that it is still owned by the original organization and remains pretty much in its original condition.