On July 5, 1867, General Grenville M. Dodge and his survey crew platted the site now known as Cheyenne in Dakota Territory (later Wyoming Territory). This site was chosen as the point at which the Union Pacific Railroad crossed Crow Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. The city was not named by Dodge, as his memoirs state, but rather by friends who accompanied him to the area Dodge called "Crow Creek Crossing." It was named for the American Indian Cheyenne nation, one of the most famous and prominent Great Plains tribes closely allied with the Arapaho.
The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad brought hopes of prosperity to the region when it reached Cheyenne on November 13, 1867. The population at the time numbered over 4,000, and grew rapidly. This rapid growth earned the city the nickname "Magic City of the Plains."
1867 also saw the establishment of Fort D. A. Russell, 3 miles west of the city. The fort was later renamed Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.
The Wyoming Stock Growers Association met at The Cheyenne Club, which allegedly acted as an interim government for the territory. Many of the WSGA's rules and regulations became state laws.
The Wyoming State Capitol was constructed between 1886 and 1890, with further improvements being completed in 1917.
In 1982, Cheyenne was the scene of a parricide case where Richard Jahnke Jr., aided by his sister Deborah, shot their abusive father to death in the garage of their home on November 16, 1982, an incident that was the basis of ABC's 1985 telefilm Right to Kill ?
