It’s the state capital and the largest city in Wyoming. Looking at Cheyenne, it’s hard to imagine it as anything other than the bustling, modern metropolis that it is, but the truth of its beginnings is a far cry from what it is today.
Founded before Wyoming was officially a state, Cheyenne was the quintessential Wild West town, filled with bandits, gamblers, and other folks from the seedier side of society. Even once it was incorporated, it took more than 20 years to tame this rowdy town down and turn it into a domesticated economic hub worthy of being the capital of the Cowboy State.
Cheyenne is the largest city in Wyoming, with over 64,000 residents.
When Cheyenne was barely an officially recognized town, it attracted a dubious element. A missionary sent to open a church there less than a year after it was founded reported that it was "Hell on Wheels," and that he was appalled by the unimaginable wickedness he found there.
The right reverend noted that the majority of the businesses were gambling houses, saloons, and other "bawdy" establishments.
A diverse population frequented the many bars, casinos, and other ill-reputed businesses in town. Tappers and mountain men came into Cheyenne to do business and cut loose.
Gamblers and gunslingers visited Cheyenne in those days, too. Bat Masterson was one of the more famous gun-toting gamblers to spend time in the town...
Author Bill O'Neill reports in his book "Cheyenne: A Biography of the ‘Magic City’ of the Plains, 1867-1903" that Wild Bill was pretty much a fixture in the town in the 1870s. According to records in the Wyoming State Archives, Bill was even married in Cheyenne, though the minister noted on the marriage record that he didn't think Bill "meant it."
And, of course, there were plenty of saloon girls.
Railroad construction brought with it the beginnings of some semblance of peace. The railroad workers and their families started to outnumber the not-so-law-abiding citizens.
