Annual Festivals: Jubilee Days, Western Outlaw Festival, Butch Cassidy Days, and the Albany County Fair
Fred Pflughoft
Laramie’s glorious history and foundation, in many respects, is very similar to most other towns along the railroad. Fort Sanders was a short distance to the south and provided the necessary protection for the Denver-Salt Lake Stage Line. Water was plentiful with two springs nearby and the Big Laramie River running through the area. In May 1868, the tracks were laid to the city and within three months the population sprang to 5,000. The first citizenry has been described as a few solid family men, indifferent transients, railroaders, gamblers, military troops, thieves, stockmen and the usual lawless riffraff. Several months later, a group of 500 city fathers organized a vigilante posse and waged war on the criminals. Some of the desperadoes left on the next train, while a reluctant few were invited to “necktie” parties.
Rick Carpenter
Laramie is noted as playing a definite role in the testing of many of Wyoming’s unique laws. Reporters flocked to the Gem City of the Plains to witness the first woman in the world serve on a jury in March 1870. In the fall of 1871, another first occurred in Laramie when “Grandma” Louiza Swain went to the polls and was the first woman in the world to vote in a general election. What started out as a tent city in 1868, has grown and prospered despite the fact that as soon as the end of the tracks moved westward, Laramie’s population plummeted to a permanent 1,500 residents.
Today, Laramie is home of the University of Wyoming, the Tate Geological Museum, the American Heritage Center, the Wyoming Territorial Park and Laramie Plains Museum. Laramie is a popular stop when visiting Wyoming with a wide range of outdoor activities from fishing, camping, skiing, snomobiling, and a beautiful mountain range to explore.
Most of the major Indian-military battles in Wyoming occurred during the 1860s in the Powder River Basin as Northern Plains tribes rebuffed efforts to establish forts in their territory. In August of 1865 troops led by General Patrick Connor attacked a camp of Arapahos at a site that is now a town park in Ranchester. read more
The foothills of the Laramie Mountains, separating Cheyenne and Laramie, form the setting for Curt Gowdy State Park. read more
