Everything about Cheyenne Wyoming totally explained
Cheyenne is the capital of the
U.S. state of
Wyoming. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming
Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of
Laramie County, Wyoming. The population was 53,011 at the
2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Laramie County and the largest city in Wyoming.
History
On
July 4,
1867, General
Grenville M. Dodge and his survey crew platted the site now known as Cheyenne (Dakota Territory, later Wyoming Territory). There were many from a hundred miles around who felt the construction of the
Union Pacific Railroad through the area would bring them prosperity. By the time the first track was built into Cheyenne four months later (November 13), over four thousand people had migrated into the new city. Because Cheyenne sprang up like magic, according to newspaper editors visiting from the East, it became known as "Magic City of the Plains" .
Those who stayed and didn't leave with the westward construction of the railroad were joined by gamblers, saloon owners, thieves, opportunists, prostitutes, displaced cowboys, miners, transient railroad gangs, proper business men, soldiers from "Camp Cheyenne," later named Fort D.A. Russell (now
F.E. Warren Air Force Base), and men from Camp Carlin, a supply camp for fifteen northern army posts on the frontier.
The city wasn't named by
Grenville Dodge as his memoirs state, but rather by his friends who accompanied him to the area Dodge called "Crow Creek Crossing." It was named for the Native American
Cheyenne nation ("Shay-an"), one of the most famous and prominent
Great Plains tribes closely allied with the
Arapaho. The Cheyenne were among the fiercest fighters on the plains. Not pleased with the changes brought about by the railroad, they'd harassed both railroad surveyors and construction crews.
As the capital of the
Wyoming Territory and the only city of any consequence, as well as being the seat of the stockyards where cattle were loaded on the
Union Pacific Railroad, the city's Cheyenne Club was the natural meeting place for the organization of the large well-capitalized ranches called the
Wyoming Stock Growers Association. (See
Johnson County War of 1892, the largest of the "range wars" of early Wyoming history). The newspaper offices of
Asa Shinn Mercer's
Northwestern Livestock Journal were burned down when the paper, which was founded as a public relations vehicle for the moneyed cattle interests, began to write scathing accounts of the events that were unfolding on the open range. His account is told in his book
The Banditti of the Plains,.
As a town created by the railroad, Cheyenne fittingly preserves one of the eight surviving
Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives ("4004"), some of the largest steam locomotives ever built, designed for hauling freight over the
Rocky Mountains at high speeds. These engines typically hauled 100 freight cars up ruling grades between Cheyenne and Ogden, Utah, at 50 miles per hour. The locomotive now resides in Holliday park in central Cheyenne. The Union Pacific's last live-steam engines still reside in Cheyenne. The Challenger 3985 and the Northern 844, UP's last steam passenger engine, are maintained there. They are used for display and excursions across the county.
Alferd Packer, the only American ever convicted of
cannibalism (though the official charge was murder since cannibalism isn't a crime in the United States), was apprehended north of
Fort Laramie and was taken to jail in Cheyenne, March 11, 1883.
Tom Horn, the notorious Pinkerton's agent who had been operating as a hit man for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, was hanged in Cheyenne for a murder that he probably didn't commit on November 20, 1903, the day before his 43rd birthday.
The Wyoming Telephone and Telegraph Company published the first telephone directory in the United States in Cheyenne in 1881. Due to a shortage of white paper, it was printed on yellow paper instead which started the tradition of the "yellow pages" phone directory.
Several ships of the
United States Navy have been named
USS Cheyenne in honor of this city as well as a couple of tug boats working around New York City .
Bill O'Neal, a
historian of the
American West based in
Carthage, Texas, published
Cheyenne, 1867-1903': A Biography of the Magic City of the Plains in
2006.
Geography
Cheyenne is located at (41.145548, -104.802042). Lying near the southeast corner of the state, it's one of the
least centrally located state capitals in the nation (together with cities such as
Carson City, Nevada and
Juneau, Alaska).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.9
km² (21.2
mi²). 54.7 km² (21.1 mi²) of it's land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.38%) is water.
Cheyenne, like most of Wyoming is classified as
semi-arid.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec High | 66 °F
(19 °C) |
71 °F
(22 °C) |
74 °F
(23 °C) |
83 °F
(28 °C) |
91 °F
(33 °C) |
100 °F
(38 °C) |
100 °F
(38 °C) |
96 °F
(36 °C) |
95 °F
(35 °C) |
83 °F
(28 °C) |
75 °F
(24 °C) |
69 °F
(20 °C)
|
| Norm High | 37 °F
(3 °C) |
41 °F
(5 °C) |
46 °F
(8 °C) |
54 °F
(12 °C) |
64 °F
(18 °C) |
75 °F
(24 °C) |
82 °F
(28 °C) |
80 °F
(27 °C) |
70 °F
(21 °C) |
58 °F
(14 °C) |
45 °F
(7 °C) |
38 °F
(3 °C)
|
| Norm Low | 15 °F
(-9 °C) |
17 °F
(-8 °C) |
22 °F
(-6 °C) |
29 °F
(-2 °C) |
38 °F
(3 °C) |
48 °F
(9 °C) |
53 °F
(12 °C) |
52 °F
(11 °C) |
43 °F
(6 °C) |
33 °F
(1 °C) |
22 °F
(-6 °C) |
16 °F
(-9 °C)
|
| Rec Low | -30 °F
(-34 °C) |
-34 °F
(-36 °C) |
-21 °F
(-29 °C) |
-8 °F
(-22 °C) |
13 °F
(-11 °C) |
25 °F
(-4 °C) |
33 °F
(1 °C) |
36 °F
(2 °C) |
8 °F
(-13 °C) |
-1 °F
(-18 °C) |
-21 °F
(-29 °C) |
-28 °F
(-33 °C)
|
| Precip | |
|
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Source: Weather.com (External Link ) |
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 53,011 people, 22,324 households, 14,175 families residing in the city, and 81,607 people residing in the Metropolitan Statistical Area making it the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Wyoming. The
population density was 969.6/km² (2,511.4/mi²). There were 23,782 housing units at an average density of 435.0/km² (1,126.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.11%
White, 2.78%
Black or
African American, 0.81%
Native American, 1.06%
Asian, 0.11%
Pacific Islander, 4.44% from
other races, and 2.69% from two or more races. 12.54% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 22,324 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were
married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,856, and the median income for a family was $46,771. Males had a median income of $32,286 versus $24,529 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,809. About 6.3% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Cheyenne Frontier Days
Cheyenne hosts the
Cheyenne Frontier Days annually during the the last week of July. The rodeo is the largest outdoor rodeo in the world. A carnival, the gunslingers, historic tours, and more. More than 30,000 tourists come to Cheyenne for this event.
Landmarks
Historical places
Over fifty different locations in Cheyenne are listed on the
National Register of Historical Places, including:
the Atlas Theatre (added 1973)
Union Pacific Depot (1973)
the Governor's Mansion (1969)
Nagle-Warren Mansion (1976)
First United Methodist Church (1975)
St. Mark's Episcopal Church (1970)
St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral (1974)
Cheyenne High School (2005)
Storey Gymnasium (2005)
Several districts in the city are also listed, including:
the Downtown District (1978, with boundary increase in 1980, 1988, 1996. Encompasses 205 acres and 67 buildings)
Lakeview District (1996, 350 acres 109 buildings)
Rainsford District (1984, 1980 acres 288 buildings)
Capitol North District (1980, 204 acres 112 buildings)
Fort David A. Russell (1969, 6300 acres 19 buildings)
Union Pacific Roundhouse, Turntable and Machine Shop (1992, 113 acres 2 buildings)
South Side District (2006)
Transportation
Highways
Interstate Highways:
I-25
North-South Interstate running from New Mexico to Wyoming intersects I-80 southwest of Cheyenne.
I-80
East-West Interstate running from California to New York. Intersects I-25 southwest of Cheyenne.
I-180
North-South interstate that runs concurrent with US 85 from I-80 to US 30.
(It is the only Interstate Highway that isn't up to Interstate Highway standards)
US Routes:
US 30 (Lincolnway)
East-West route through Cheyenne
US 85 (South Greely Hwy., Central Ave. (Southbound), Warren Ave. (Northbound))
North-South route through Cheyenne
US 87
North-South through Cheyenne that runs concurrent with I-25 through Cheyenne
Wyoming State Highways:
WY 210 (Happy Jack Rd.)
East-West route from I-25/US 87 (Exit 10) west out of Cheyenne towards Laramie.
WY 212 (College Dr., Four Mile Rd.)
North-South route that forms a beltway around Cheyenne. From I-25 (Exit 7) to WY 219.
WY 219 (Yellowstone Rd.)
North-South route from US 85 in Cheyenne near the Cheyenne Airport north out of the city
WY 221 (Fox Farm Rd.)
East-west route from US 85 east to WY 212 in Cheyenne
WY 225 (Otto Rd.)
East-West route from I-80/US 30 southwest of Cheyenne west.
Airports
Cheyenne is serviced by Cheyenne Airport.
Railroads
Union Pacific and BNSF serve Cheyenne.
Fictional references to Cheyenne
In Philip K. Dick's alternative history novel The Man in the High Castle, Cheyenne is where Hawthorne Abendsen lives in his "High Castle".
In the American serial drama Jericho, Cheyenne is the capital city of the Allied States of America, a separatist faction of the United States formed after a surprise nuclear attack on the country's major metropolitan areas. The population has swelled to nearly a million. The March 18th, 2008 episode ended with a shot of the city's skyline, which had been built up with skyscrapers since the attack due to the surge in population and political importance.
In the 1984 motion picture Red Dawn, Cheyenne is the farthest north that the Mexican, Soviet, and Nicaraguan forces have pushed American forces, according to the downed Air Force pilot.
In the motion picture Ready to Rumble, the two main protagonists go to a live WCW Monday Night Nitro in Cheyenne.
Sister Cities
Cheyenne's sister cities are:
:
: Taichung, Taiwan
: Lourdes
Under Consideration:
Hammam Sousse, Tunisia
Notable natives and residents
James L. Applegate (born 1930) - Cheyenne attorney and former Democratic member of the Wyoming State Senate (1989-1997) and Minority Leader (1995-1996)
John Godina (born 1972) - Shot putter; won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney games. Godina was born in Oklahoma but attended Cheyenne Central High School.
Curt Gowdy (1919-2006) - National sportscaster
Robert T. "Bob" Johnson (1924-2007) was the first helicopter pilot in the Wyoming Army Guard, having devoted some fifty-five years of his life to aviation. In 2004, he was inducted into the Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame in Cheyenne.
Cynthia Lummis - Former member of both houses of the Wyoming legislature and former Republican state treasurer (1999-2007); candidate for the United States House of Representatives, 2008
Dean T. Prosser (1917-2007) - Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1971-1983 and leader in environmental legislation
Edward R. Prosser (born 1949) - Former Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Robert Schliske (1924-2007) - Founding faculty member of Laramie County Community College and former Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Dorothy Schwartz (1913-2007) - Violinist with the Cheyenne Symphony
Joseph D. Selby (1950-2007) - Former Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and municipal judge
Larry D. Shippy (1946-2007) - Former Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and official of Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo
Edwin H. Whitehead (1925-2007) - Former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and leader of the John F. Kennedy forces in Wyoming in 1960
Alvin Wiederspahn (born 1949) - Former Democratic member of both houses of the Wyoming legislature and prominent Cheyenne lawyer; husband of Cynthia Lummis
Dan Zwonitzer (born 1979) - Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Media
Further Information
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