Cheyenne County was a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of the extralegal

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Territory of Jefferson The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed in the Pike's Peak mining region from October 24, 1859, until it yielded to the new Territory of Colorado on Jun ...

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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. Cheyenne County was named for the

Cheyenne Nation The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also ...

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 Sou ...

Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory Arapahoe County was a county of Kansas Territory in the United States that existed from August 25, 1855, until Kansas's admission into the Union on January 29, 1861. History On August 25, 1855, the Kansas Territorial Legislature created Arapahoe ...

. 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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, so they voted to form their own

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 North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county (after San Diego), with an estimated population of 869,322. North County is well known for its affluence, especially ...

, 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 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, its highest decennial count ever and a ...

, 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 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized i ...

was organized, and on July 25, 1868, the Territory of Wyoming was organized.

References

External links

Wyoming State Historical Society website
{{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