Native American Hostilities and Increased Settlement

Up to the completion of the Union Pacific railroad these old trails teemed with life and business. Today all that remains are the old wagon ruts seen here and there and occasionally a grave. The heaviest travel was before 1855 but to show the magnitude of the freight traffic in later years, read the following figures: "In 1858 five thousand tons of government supplies and stores were conveyed across the country, up the Platte Valley and across the mountains to Utah. It required 2,000 heavy wagons, 2,000 ox-drivers and train-masters and from 18,0OO to 20,000 oxen and in continuous column represented a length of forty miles."

Early pioneer settlers concentrated on running the railroad, exploiting coal and other minerals, and running livestock on the open range. Cattle ranching became big business, despite large losses of stock in the severe winter of 1887-88.  Few farmers settled in Wyoming under the Homestead Act of 1862, but ranchers and cowboys began filing claims and fencing the better range and waterholes legally and illegally toward the end of the century.

Settlers mostly became farmers, either buying land from the railroad, or homesteading 160 acres. The government gave the land to the settlers free if they lived on it and improved it for a certain number of years. If they were willing to plant and care for trees, they could receive an additional 160 acres as well.

In the mid-1860s the white population of the Wyoming country numbered less than 1,000, most of whom lived around Fort Laramie or Fort Bridger. In 1867.  A gold rush, stimulated by discoveries at South Pass (1867), brought the first heavy influx of settlers to that region; the flow was increased by the uncovering of vast coal deposits in SW Wyoming. Probably the greatest stimulus to permanent settlement was the completion in 1868 of the Wyoming sector of the Union Pacific Railroad. Towns and coal mines sprang up beside the tracks, and trade thrived on the demands of the road crews and the new settlers. By the time the rails across Wyoming were completed in 1868, the area’s population had reached 11,000. Laborers, merchants, speculators, miners, and adventurers filled the makeshift towns that sprang up along the tracks. More railroads and irrigation extension aided in the early development of the state.  

United States soldiers came to protect the wagon trains from hostile Indians, and established forts along the trails. The most important of the western military posts was Fort Laramie in southeastern Wyoming. Fort Laramie became a haven for gold seekers and weary emigrants. It was also an important station for the Pony Express and the Overland stagecoaches, and it served as a vital military post in the wars with the Plains Indians. The post witnessed the growth of the open range cattle industry, the coming of homesteaders and the building of towns which marked the final closing of the wild, western frontier in 1890.

With arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad and subsequent development of the cattle industry, people began to think about the establishment of a separate Wyoming territory.

Territorial Status and Economic Development

Organization

Territorial status and the name Wyoming were first proposed in 1865 by Ohio congressman James M. Ashley. In 1868, after defeat of efforts to name the territory Lincoln, the new territory of Wyoming was created from lands once part of the Oregon, Dakota, Utah, and Idaho territories.

A meeting in Cheyenne on September 27, 1867 began the effective organization of Laramie County, which had been created by the Dakota Legislature the previous January with Fort Sanders as county seat.  For the time being, all of the Wyoming country comprised just one county of Dakota Territory.  Carved from sections of Dakota, Utah, and Idaho territories, Wyoming Territory came into existence by act of Congress on July 25, 1868. The territorial government, with Cheyenne as her capital, was formally inaugurated May 19, 1869. The first territorial governor, John A. Campbell, appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant, took his oath of office on April 15, 1869.

At the time of its organization, Wyoming Territory had already been divided into four counties: Laramie, established January 9, 1867; Carter (later Sweetwater), established December 27, 1867; Carbon and Albany, December 16, 1868. These counties extended from the northern to the southern boundaries of the territory.  A portion of Utah and Idaho, extending from Montana (including Yellowstone Park) to the Wyoming-Utah boundary, was annexed and named Uinta County.  By the time Wyoming achieved statehood on 10 July 1890, eight more counties had been created from the original five.  Today, there are a total of 23 counties in Wyoming:

Economic Development

In 1890, one-fourth of Wyoming's population at that time was foreign born, originating from England, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Wales, China, Norway, Italy, Austria, and France. Population increase was steady, advancing from about 9,000 in 1870 to over 90,000 in 1900 (see the Almanac on this site). With an expanding population frontiersmen rapidly (and somewhat chaotically) established schools.

Following Statehood, no large industries or population centers developed. However, Wyoming continued to advance economically as huge herds of cattle were driven up over the Texas Trail. Native American resistance had been suppressed by the late 1870s. The Arapaho were placed on the Wind River Reservation with their former enemies, the Shoshone, and cattlemen safely moved their herds to grasslands throughout Wyoming.

Like other states, Wyoming underwent considerable hardship during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Agricultural prices dropped, a number of mines closed down, and oil production declined. Difficulties were increased by a severe and prolonged drought that began in 1926 and continued well into the 1930s. Large areas of land, especially in southeastern Wyoming, where dry farming had been prevalent, were completely dried up.  In 1933 Wyoming became the last state to request financial aid during the Great Depression. In 1934 Congress adopted the Taylor Grazing Act, which was designed to help avoid overgrazing. With the aid of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service some parched regions were reclaimed and returned to use as irrigated pasture land.  Additionally, the economy was bolstered by oil production, and the federal government constructed dams and hydroelectric stations, including those of the Kendrick Project on the North Platte River.

Dry farming, producing hay, wheat, and barley, is supplemented by the more diversified yield (especially sugar beets and dry beans) of irrigated fields. Most of the inhabitants of the state derive their livelihood directly or indirectly from farming or ranching. The most valuable farm commodities, in terms of cash receipts, are cattle, hay, sugar beets, and wheat. Sparse grasses over much of the region necessitate a large grazing area for each animal, and the average ranch in Wyoming is larger than in any state except Arizona. Sheep graze in places unfit for cattle, and both sheep and cattle range by permit in the national forests. Cooperative grazing tracts are on the increase. Horses, a prized essential in the practice of ranching, are carefully raised and trained.

Mining is the largest sector of the state’s economy, accounting for about one quarter of the gross state product. Oil wells were first drilled in the 1860s, and today petroleum is the state’s most important mineral. The production of petroleum and petroleum products is centered in Casper. Natural gas is also of considerable economic significance. By the late 1980s, Wyoming ranked first in the United States in the production of coal, sodium carbonate, and uranium. Considerable amounts of gold, iron, and various clays are also mined. Important manufactures include processed foods and clay, glass, and wood products.