The history of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is the ultimate "Wild West" tale of iron rails, wealthy cattle barons, outlaw lawlessness, and rapid reinvention. Unlike many cities that started as slow-growing settlements, Cheyenne exploded onto the map almost overnight.
Bird's-eye view image of Cheyenne, Wyoming, published in 1882. Unfortunately the scanned image is at too low a resolution to clearly display the list of company and organisaztion details. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
1. The Birth of the "Magic City of the Plains" (1867)
Before 1867, the high plains of southeastern Wyoming were primarily the hunting grounds of nomadic Native American tribes, including the Arapaho, Lakota, and the Cheyenne, after whom the city would eventually be named.
The catalyst for the city was the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. In July 1867, Major General Grenville M. Dodge, the chief engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, pitched a site camp where the proposed tracks would cross Crow Creek.
Dodge chose the location because it was a natural point for trains to prepare for the steep climb over the Rocky Mountains via the gangplank—a natural geological ramp leading up into the Laramie Mountains.
Word spread instantly. Before the tracks even reached the site, a massive wave of homesteaders, merchants, gamblers, and saloon keepers rushed to the area to claim land. By the time the first Union Pacific train officially steamed into town on November 13, 1867, Cheyenne boasted a population of over 4,000 people. Because it seemed to spring up from the empty prairie like magic, it was dubbed "The Magic City of the Plains."
Closeup of the building illustrations on the bird's-eye view image of Cheyenne, Wyoming, published in 1882. Illustrations of the County Hospital, the Court House, the Cheyenne Club House, the Opera House, and the Cheyenne Public Buildings were all shown. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
2. Hell on Wheels and Early Lawlessness
With its sudden boom came extreme lawlessness. Cheyenne quickly earned a reputation as one of the roughest towns on the "Hell on Wheels" railroad route.
The early population was heavily comprised of railroad laborers, soldiers stationed at the nearby Fort D.A. Russell (now F.E. Warren Air Force Base), and transient fortune-seekers. Saloons, brothels, and gambling halls lined the muddy streets.
Law enforcement was virtually non-existent at first, forcing citizens to form a vigilance committee to establish order. Vigilante justice was common; thieves and murderers were frequently rounded up and hanged from local structures or telegraph poles to keep the peace.
Closeup of an extract of the bird's-eye view image of Cheyenne, Wyoming, published in 1882. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
3. The Wealthiest City in the World: The Cattle Baron Era
As the wild railroad camp tamed, Cheyenne underwent a massive economic evolution in the late 1870s and 1880s. It became the epicenter of the American livestock boom.
Wealthy investors—many of them aristocratic young men from England, Scotland, and the eastern U.S.—flooded into Wyoming to establish massive corporate cattle ranches. These men became known as the Cattle Barons.
They managed their empires from downtown Cheyenne, forming the exclusive Cheyenne Club. This legendary establishment featured fine carpets, imported cigars, French chefs, and a high-stakes trading floor. For a brief period in the 1880s, due to the astronomical profits of the open-range cattle industry, Cheyenne boasted the highest per-capita wealth of any city in the world.
This extreme wealth left a permanent mark on the city's architecture. The barons built opulent, sprawling Victorian mansions in the city’s historic residential districts and funded the construction of the grand Wyoming State Capitol building.
Closeup of an extract of the bird's-eye view image of Cheyenne, Wyoming, published in 1882. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
4. The Johnson County War and Tom Horn
The open-range cattle boom came to a catastrophic halt during the Great Blizzard of 1886–1887. Temperatures dropped past -30°F, killing off over 80% of the region's livestock and bankrupting many of the elite cattle barons.
The survivors consolidated their power, leading to deep tensions between the wealthy cattle syndicates (organized under the Wyoming Stock Growers Association in Cheyenne) and smaller, independent homesteaders. This rivalry boiled over into the bloody Johnson County War in 1892, an armed conflict over alleged cattle rustling that required the intervention of the U.S. Cavalry.
During this tense post-boom era, Cheyenne became the backdrop for the story of Tom Horn. A notorious scout and range detective, Horn was hired by the cattle barons to eliminate suspected rustlers. In 1902, Horn was arrested and convicted of murdering a 14-year-old boy, the son of an independent rancher. He was hanged in Cheyenne in 1903, marking the symbolic end of the lawless, vigilante-driven frontier era.
An old photograph of the State Capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming. From the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs held in the Photography Collection of the New York Public Library.
5. Transition to Capital and Modern Identity
When Wyoming was admitted to the Union as the 44th state on July 10, 1890, Cheyenne was firmly established as its permanent capital city.
To honor its frontier roots and draw tourism, the city launched Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1897. What started as a small, one-day cowboy festival grew over the decades into "The Daddy of 'em All"—the world's largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration, which still draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every July.
In the 20th century, Cheyenne's economy diversified beyond cattle and trains. Fort D.A. Russell evolved into F.E. Warren Air Force Base, which became critically important during the Cold War as the nation's first operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) base.
Today, Cheyenne successfully balances its modern role as Wyoming's political, military, and logistical hub with a deeply preserved frontier identity, proudly displaying its historic downtown, massive locomotive heritage, and classic Western spirit.
An old photograph of the Carnegie Public Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which was completed in 1902 and demolished in 1971. The impressive building contained a 240-seat auditorium, art gallery, two club rooms, and a 50,000 volume capacity stack room. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
CHEYENNE'S 19th-CENTURY ECONOMIC CYCLE
[1867: Railroad Hub]
│ (Union Pacific builds over the mountains)
▼
[1870s: Frontier Trade]
│ (Black Hills Gold Rush supply chains)
▼
[1880s: Cattle Boom]
│ (Open-range ranching & global wealth)
▼
[1887: The Great Blizzard] --> (Wiped out 80%+ of cattle; forced modern ranching)
The first Cheyenne Frontier Day was held in 1897, and the annual event still draws in large crowds today to enjoy rodeo action and Western entertainment. This old photo shows participants in the event held in 1910. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract from the 1910 photo of the Cheyenne Frontier Day, which is in the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract from the 1910 photo of the Cheyenne Frontier Day, which is in the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract from the 1910 photo of the Cheyenne Frontier Day, which is in the archives of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Cheyenne Rodeo 1972
Just over a minute long, this is a rare glimpse at a 1970s rodeo in Cheyenne.
1972 Rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming - Vintage Bull & Bronco Riding - Vintage Video Clips on YouTube
F3 Tornado 1979
On July 16, 1979 an F3 tornado hit Cheyenne, Wyoming.
At the time, it was the largest tornado ever recorded in Wyoming.
It left one person dead, 37 injured, and hundreds of damaged homes meant over a thousand people suddenly found themselves homeless.
In this video, the 1979 Mayor of Cheyenne, Don Erickson, talks about his memories of that terrible event.
F3 tornado hits Cheyenne, Wyoming on July 16, 1979 - Cowboy State Daily on YouTube
Cheyenne's Streets in 2017
Although this recorded 2017 drone flight doesn't count as vintage footage, it does show many of Cheyenne's historic buildings and a clear vision of the city's layout.
Drone Cheyenne, Wyoming - James - BeBop on YouTube
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