Capitol Ave. in Cheyenne-view to the Capitol
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. As of September 2005, it had an estimated population of 55,362. It is
the county seat of Laramie County and the
largest city in Wyoming.
History
On July 4, 1867, General Grenville Dodge with 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. So, 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" [citation needed].
Those who stayed and did not 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 [citation needed] northern army posts on the frontier.
The city was not 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 had 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 a city park. 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 is not a crime in the United States),
was apprehended 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 did
not commit, on November 20, 1903, a day before his 43 birthday.
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
[citation needed].
Geography
Cheyenne is located at 41°8′44″N, 104°48′7″W (41.145548,
-104.802042)1.
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
is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.38%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 53,011 people, 22,324 households, and 14,175 families
residing in the city, making it the largest city 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.
Landmarks
Transportation
Highways
In Cheyenne the north-south Interstate 25 running from New
Mexico to Wyoming intersects with the east-west Interstate 80 running from California to
New York.
Airports
Cheyenne is serviced by Cheyenne Airport.
Railroads
Union Pacific and BNSF serve
Cheyenne.
Other information
In Philip K. Dick's alternative history
novel The Man in the High Castle, Cheyenne is where Hawthorne Abendsen
lives in his "High Castle".
Sister Cities
Cheyenne's sister cities are:
- Lompoc, California
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Taichung, Taiwan
- Lourdes, France
- Waimea, Hawaii as of May 2007. In recognition of the Wyoming/Hawaiian ranching kinship, and the 2008 "Great Waiomina
(Wyoming) Centennial Celebration" of Paniolo (Hawaiian Cowboy) Ikua Purdy at Cheyenne Frontier Days. In 1908, Purdy (and three
others) came to Cheyenne's great rodeo by steamship and train, competed, and won. It was a complete surprise to the
audience.
Under Consideration:
Notable natives and residents
Media
External links
Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce
Coordinates:
41.145548° N 104.802042°
W
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