On the fourth of July in 1867, General Grenville Dodge set the spot for Wyoming’s first railroad terminal. Crow Creek was the spot. He named this spot Cheyenne after the Indian tribe in the area. It didn’t take long for a city to grow from the terminal.
Robert Strahorn, while preparing his Handbook, asked one of the first settlers of the city if he could point out the first house erected in Cheyenne. “The old settlers replied, “ well, one fine day, early in July, 1867, four or five hundred of us pitched our tents here, where there wasn’t a sign of civilization, and about half of us woke up at daylight the next morning to find that the other half were living in board shanties.” **
**From Velma Linford’s, Wyoming Frontier State.
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| 1890 Train |
Cheyenne, at the time, was constantly referred to as a creation of the Union Pacific Railroad. Within weeks a city blossomed. By the end of summer, more than 300 businesses were open in Cheyenne. By November when the first rails made it to town, 4,000 people were living there. A year later the population dropped to 1,500 but the town remained and grew, reaching a population 4,500 people by the early 1880s.
Fifty-nine railroads were incorporated in Wyoming between 1869 and 1900. Seems like we should have tracks running all over the state. Many of these railroads were only on paper and never able to raise the money to build any miles of track. But some track was getting built, a reported 290 miles in the first few years of twentieth century.
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| Train heading west |
6 comments:
This piques my interest in visiting Cheyenne.
"Fifty-nine railroads were incorporated in Wyoming between 1869 and 1900. Seems like we should have tracks running all over the state. Many of these railroads were only on paper and never able to raise the money to build any miles of track. But some track was getting built, a reported 290 miles in the first few years of twentieth century."
There were more lines prior to World War Two. If you know where to look, you can see quite a few of the old grades here and there.
I posted a link to a 1915 railroad map on my railroad blog some time ago, with that entry appearing here: http://patsrailhead.blogspot.com/2015/01/lex-anteinternet-wyoming-railraod-map.html but the link expired. The State archive site has the original on line, and it's worth looking at.
"This piques my interest in visiting Cheyenne."
Well, other than a big Union Pacific rail yard in Cheyenne, with a classic old station (which you can see here: http://patsrailhead.blogspot.com/2012/03/union-pacific-rail-yard-and-depot.html ) there's not that much evidence of this period of its history, in my view. Cheyenne now is really a fairly typical Mid Western mid sized city. It is the capital, of course, so it has a selection of things associated with that. And Frontier Days, the Granddaddy of them all, is there.
Hope you can make it out to Cheyenne some time Ford. Take a look at the great links posted byPat, Marcus & Amp on the other comments. And Pat, Marcus, thanks for the link.
Watch the third season of Hell on Wheels about the beginnings of Cheyenne as a Union Pacific railway hub.
Michael, I have been watching that series myself, violent but enjoyable.
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