Cheyenne County was a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the extralegal

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861. Cheyenne County occupied the region that today includes the City of Cheyenne,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. Cheyenne County was named for the

Cheyenne Nation The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enrolle ...

of Native Americans that lived in the area.

History

In July 1858, gold was discovered along the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...

in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859. On November 28, the General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson organized 12 counties: Arrappahoe County, Cheyenne County, El Paso County, Fountain County, Heele County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Mountain County, North County, Park County,

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popul ...

, and St. Vrain's County. The legislation that created Cheyenne County declared:

That a county to be called Cheyenne, be and is hereby erected, including that portion of territory lying within the following limits: commencing in the main channel of the south fork of the Platte River, where the 104th meridian of west longitude crosses the same, thence north with said 104 meridian of longitude to where the same crosses Lodge Pole Creek, thence west up the main channel of said creek to the summit of the Black Hills; then south upon the summit of said Hills to the north west corner of Heele county, thence east along the north line of said county to its north east corner; thence south to the Cache La Poudre Creek, thence south down the main channel of said creek to its junction with the South Platte River, thence down the main channel of the Platte to the place of beginning.

The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction. On February 28, 1861, the

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

was organized, and on July 25, 1868, the

Territory of Wyoming The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boun ...

was organized.

References

External links

Wyoming State Historical Society website
{{coord missing, Wyoming Jefferson Territory Geography of Wyoming Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Laramie County, Wyoming 1859 establishments in Nebraska Territory

History

See also

References

External links