Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the early 1860s, stagecoaches, freight, and mail wagons ran along the Overland Trail,
which loosely followed the Cherokee Trail of 1848. When the railroad arrived in Wyoming
in 1867, it also followed this route. The railroad changed Americans' perception of Wyom-
ing—rather than a passageway, it had become a destination. It no longer took months, only
days to arrive in Wyoming. It was easier to export goods from the territory and target des-
tinations that were farther away. With its prime grazing land and natural resources, Wyom-
ing began to attract settlers.
Beginning in 1867, tent cities sprang up overnight wherever railroad crews laid tracks.
These small “hell on wheels” towns consisted of ramshackle houses, brothels, saloons, and
gambling tents. Cheyenne, Laramie, Carbon, and Rock Springs were all initially settled
in this manner. As the tracks moved west, the makeshift towns would often close up and
follow suit. However, the more innovative found other ways to remain relevant or remain
linked to the railroad business, and they prospered. The southern part of the state housed
the first five original counties of the Wyoming Territory, which extended all the way from
Colorado to Montana.
The first makeshift railroad town to be settled was Cheyenne in July 1867. Initially a
boisterous, mayhem-filled tent city, it soon began to blossom. By November it had 4,000
residents and was dubbed the “magic city” for its large population boom. Fort D. A. Russell
was established nearby, and the military presence helped to settle things down. Cheyenne
became an important shipping center, exporting cattle and supplies to the East and import-
ing the latest fashions and desirables. Thanks to the cattle barons, by the 1880s Cheyenne
was considered one of the wealthiest cities per capita in the world.
Laramie became a permanent town when the Union Pacific Railroad decided to locate
its division headquarters there. Like Cheyenne, it had wild and rowdy days, but by 1887
Wyoming University was established, opening its enrollment to both women and men.
Laramie went on to hold the distinct honor of having the first women voters in the country.
Like most of these towns in southern Wyoming, Laramie's future was intrinsically tied
to the railroad, and when the Union Pacific established a rolling mill in town, it immediately
brought with it new improvements. Union Pacific was awarded mineral rights to tracts of
land along the railroad, and this also shaped the character of southern Wyoming. When coal
was discovered at Carbon, miners from England and Finland came to work the mines, as
well as those in Rock Springs and Evanston. Since Union Pacific coal sold at cheaper prices
(and the company could ship it at almost no cost), it eventually monopolized the industry,
and Rock Springs became the biggest coal producer in the West.
