Laramie () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Albany County, Wyoming, United States, known for its high elevation at , for its railroad history, and as the home of the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
. The population was 31,407 at the
2020 census, making it the
fourth-most populous city in
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 ...
. Located on the
Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne and north of the Colorado state line, at the junction of
Interstate 80 and
U.S. Route 287.
After 12,000 years or more of Indigenous populations living in the area, Laramie was settled by European Americans in 1868 with the completion of the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
line to the area, which crosses the Laramie River at Laramie. The river and several creeks fed by freshwater springs made the area an attractive place for settlement. It is home to the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
,
WyoTech, and a branch of
Laramie County Community College.
Laramie Regional Airport serves Laramie. The ruins of
Fort Sanders, an army fort predating Laramie, lie just south of the city along Route 287. Located in the Laramie Valley between the
Snowy Range and the
Laramie Range, the city draws outdoor enthusiasts with its abundance of outdoor activities.
Etymology
Laramie is named for
Jacques LaRamie, a French or French-Canadian trapper who disappeared in the Laramie Mountains in the early 1820s. He was one of the first Europeans to visit the area. European-American settlers named a river, mountain range, peak, US Army fort, county, and city for him. More Wyoming landmarks are named for him than for any other trapper but
Jim Bridger. Because the name was used so frequently, the
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
was called Laramie City for decades to distinguish it from other uses.
Founding
The city was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the
Overland Stage Line route, the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
portion of the
first transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
, and just north of Fort Sanders army post. The rails reached Laramie on May 4, 1868, when construction crews worked through town. A few passengers arrived on that same day. The first regular passenger service began on May 10, 1868, by which time entrepreneurs were building more permanent structures. Laramie City (as it was known in early years) soon had stores, houses, a school, and churches.
["Laramie History"](_blank)
Laramie Plains Museum. Retrieved on August 11, 2007. Laramie's fame as the western terminal of the Union Pacific Railroad, acquired when the section from
North Platte, Nebraska, was opened in May, ended in early August 1868 when a section of track was opened to Benton, east of present-day
Sinclair, Wyoming.
The frontier town initially suffered from lawlessness. Its first
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
,
M. C. Brown, resigned his office on June 12, 1868, after six turbulent weeks, saying that the other officials elected alongside him on May 2 were guilty of "incapacity and laxity" in dealing with the city's problems. This was due to the threat to the community from three half-brothers, early
Old West gunman "Big" Steve Long, Con Moyer and Ace Moyer. Long was Laramie's first
marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
, and with his brothers owned the
saloon Bucket of Blood. The three began harassing settlers, forcing them to sign over the deeds to their property to them. Any who refused were killed, usually goaded into a gunfight by Long. By October 1868, Long had killed 13 men.
The first Albany County
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
, rancher
N. K. Boswell, organized a "Vigilance Committee" in response. On October 28, 1868, Boswell led the committee into the Bucket of Blood, overwhelmed the three brothers, and
lynched them at an unfinished cabin down the street. Through a series of other lynchings and other forms of intimidation, the vigilantes reduced the "unruly element" and established a semblance of law and order.

By the end of the decade, Laramie became the cultural and economic center of the newly organized
Wyoming Territory.
In 1869, Wyoming's first legislature passed a bill granting equal political rights to women in the territory. In March 1870, five Laramie residents became the first women in the world to serve on a jury.
["Chapter 4: Establishing the Territory and Granting Women Equal Rights](_blank)
Roberts, Phil (editor), University of Wyoming History Department, ''Readings in Wyoming History''. Retrieved on August 11, 2007. As Laramie was the first town in Wyoming to hold a municipal election, on September 6, 1870, Laramie resident
Louisa Swain was the first woman in the United States to cast a legal vote in a general election.
Laramie was officially incorporated on January 13, 1874.
Early businesses included rolling mills, a railroad-tie treatment plant, a brick yard, a slaughterhouse, a brewery, a glass manufacturing plant, and a plaster mill, as well as the railroad yards. In 1886, a plant to produce electricity was built.
Several regional railroads were based in Laramie, including the
Laramie, North Park and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company founded in 1880 and the
Laramie, North Park and Western Railroad established in 1901.
Governor
Francis E. Warren signed a bill that established the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
(UW) in 1886, the only public university in the state. Laramie was chosen as its site, and UW opened there in 1887. Under the terms of the
Morrill Act, also known as the Land Grant College Act, in 1891 UW added an agricultural college and experiment station to gain benefits as a land grant college.
["Fact Book: Historical Highlights"](_blank)
University of Wyoming. Retrieved on August 12, 2007.
Late 20th century to present
The city was covered by international media in 1998 after the murder of
Matthew Shepard, who was a gay student at the University of Wyoming. His murder generated an international outcry. It became the symbolic focus for a nationwide campaign against gay
hate crimes. Federal hate crimes legislation was signed into law in 2009. As of May 2023, Wyoming does not have a hate crimes law, having failed to pass its most recent attempt at a hate crimes law in March 2021. Shepard's murder was the subject of the award-winning play, later adapted as a movie, ''
The Laramie Project''.
In 2004, Laramie became the first city in Wyoming to pass a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed workplaces, including bars, restaurants and private clubs. Opponents of the clean indoor air
ordinance, funded in part by the
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, immediately petitioned to have the ordinance repealed. However, the voters upheld the ordinance in a citywide
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
which was conducted concurrently with the 2004 general election. The opponents challenged the validity of the election in court, claiming various irregularities. The judge ruled that the opponents had failed to meet their burden of showing significant problems with the election, and the ordinance, which had become effective in April 2005, remained in effect. In August 2005, Laramie's City Council defeated an attempt to amend the ordinance to allow smoking in bars and private clubs.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Laramie is on a high plain between two mountain ranges, the
Snowy Range, about to the west, and the
Laramie Range, to the east. The city's elevation above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
is approximately . The
Laramie River runs through Laramie toward its confluence with the
North Platte River east of the Laramie Range.
The city is about west of
Cheyenne, and north of
Denver, Colorado
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. Laramie lies along
U.S. Route 30, Interstate 80, and U.S. Route 287, and it remains an important junction on the Union Pacific Railroad line.
Climate
Laramie has a
cold semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSk'') with long, cold, dry winters and short, warm, somewhat wetter summers.
Laramie's total precipitation averages about a year, and the average number of rainy days per year is about 86. The city experiences an afternoon that is or hotter 2.2 times a year, and a morning that is or colder 23 times in an average year. The average temperature in December is , and in July it is . Annual snowfall averages , although there is no record of more than on the ground. Because of the high elevation, winters are long, and summers short and relatively cool. The growing season is short, as the average window for freezing temperatures is September 14 through June 6, while for accumulating (≥) snow it is October 5 through May 12.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
2010 Census,
there were 30,816 people, 13,394 households, and 5,843 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 14,307 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3.2%
Asian, 2.8% from two or more races, 2.5% from
other races, 1.3%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.7%
Native American, and 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
. 9.2% of residents were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 13,394 households, of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.0% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 56.4% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.85.
The median age in the city was 25.4 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 32.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 17.4% were from 45 to 64; and 7.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.
2000 census
As of the census
of 2000, there were 27,204 people, 11,336 households, and 5,611 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,442.5 people per square mile (942.9/km
2). There were 11,994 housing units at an average density of 1,076.9 per square mile (415.7/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.81% White, 1.24% African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.89% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 7.94% of the population.
There were 11,336 households, out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.5% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city, 17.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 31.8% was from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,319, and the median income for a family was $43,395. Males had a median income of $30,888 versus $22,009 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,036. About 11.1% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Annual cultural events

Laramie Jubilee Days started in 1940 to celebrate Wyoming Statehood Day on July 10. Since then, Jubilee Days has expanded to include several days around the
Fourth of July. Events typically include food, live music, games,
carnival
Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
Carnival typi ...
rides, a street
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
, a parade, a softball tournament, and
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
events.
Museums and concert halls
The Geological Museum at the University of Wyoming is open to the public and houses more than 50,000 catalogued mineral, rock, and fossil specimens, including a dinosaur exhibit. The university's art museum offers gallery exhibits, lectures, workshops, classes, and public tours year-round. The Fine Arts Concert Hall on campus presents frequent concerts and recitals during the school year. Housed in the Ivinson Mansion near the center of town is the Laramie Plains Museum. The Wyoming Children's Museum and Nature Center has interactive exhibits and pottery classes for children aged three and older. In 2012, the
Wyoming House for Historic Women was opened in downtown Laramie.
Libraries
The central library of the Albany County Library system, with a wide range of materials for adults and children, is near downtown Laramie; the system's branch libraries are in
Centennial, west of Laramie and
Rock River, northwest of Laramie.
William Robertson Coe Library, the main library of the University of Wyoming, has materials for general research in business, education, fine arts, science, humanities, and the social sciences as well as audio visual and government documents collections. The Brinkerhoff Geology Library specializes in geology, geophysics, physical geography, mining and petroleum geology, and geological engineering. Also at the university are the George W. Hooper Law Library, the Library Annex, a high-density storage facility located in the basement of the UW Science Complex, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library, a learning resources center with materials for teachers and children, and an archives, rare book, and manuscript repository known as the American Heritage Center.
National Register sites
Twenty-one sites in Laramie, including the
Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, are included on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP). The prison site includes buildings and other exhibits from a frontier community of the late 19th century. The other sites are the
Downtown Laramie Historic District, the
Ivinson Mansion and Grounds,
Old Main on the University of Wyoming campus, the
Barn at Oxford Horse Ranch,
Bath Ranch,
Bath Row,
Charles E. Blair House,
John D. Conley House,
Cooper Mansion,
East Side School,
Fort Sanders Guardhouse,
William Goodale House,
Lehman-Tunnell Mansion,
Lincoln School,
Richardson's Overland Trail Ranch,
St. Matthew's Cathedral Close,
St. Paulus Kirche,
Snow Train Rolling Stock,
Union Pacific Athletic Club, and the
Vee Bar Ranch Lodge.
Two other Albany County sites near Laramie are on the NRHP. About east of the city is the
Ames Monument, a large granite pyramid dedicated to brothers
Oakes Ames, a
Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, and
Oliver Ames Jr., who were influential in building the Union Pacific portion of the
First transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
. Oakes Ames was also implicated in the
Credit Mobilier scandal and censured by the U.S. House. The other site is
Como Bluff, a long ridge extending east–west between Rock River and
Medicine Bow. Geologic formations in the ridge contain fossils, including dinosaurs, from the
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...
.
Sports
College
The
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
Cowboys and Cowgirls compete at the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
level (FBS-Football Bowl Subdivision for football) as members of the
Mountain West Conference. UW offers 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports teams – nine women's sports and eight men's sports. Wyoming's nine NCAA sports for women include basketball; cross country; golf; soccer; swimming and diving; tennis; indoor track & field; outdoor track and field; and volleyball. UW's eight NCAA sports for men include basketball; cross country; football; golf; swimming and diving; indoor track and field; outdoor track and field; and wrestling.
Outdoor
Sports enthusiasts find much to do in and near Laramie, nestled at above sea level between the Laramie Range (Laramie Mountains) and the Snowy Range (Medicine Bow Mountains). Popular activities include skiing,
snowmobiling,
mountain biking,
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
, fishing, and hiking.
Rock climbing, hiking, and camping are among the attractions of
Vedauwoo, an assemblage of weathered granite slabs, boulders, and cliffs covering in the
Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest, about east of Laramie off Interstate 80.
Volunteers from the Medicine Bow Nordic Association, in cooperation with the
Forest Service, maintain groomed
cross-country ski trails in a sector of the Laramie Range about east of the city. To the west, Snowy Range cross-country trails run through the national forest west of Centennial, and other trails follow gentle terrain southwest of Laramie near
Woods Landing. Miles of snowmobile trails wind through the forests, and many forest areas are open to travel by
snowshoe
Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...
.
The Snowy Range Ski Area, about west of Laramie off Wyoming Highway 130, offers
downhill skiing and
snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...
on 27 trails ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert.
Laramie is a center for mountain biking. Mountain bike trails meander through forests in the Laramie Range and the Snowy Range. The Medicine Bow Mountain Bike Patrol, part of the Laramie Bicycling Network, is a non-profit volunteer organization that works with the Forest Service to patrol and maintain biking trails east of Laramie. The Medicine Bow Rail–Trail is a mountain bike trail, long, built between 2005 and 2007 on the bed of an abandoned railroad southwest of Laramie. It starts near the town of Albany and Lake Owen and extends south to the town of Mountain Home near the Wyoming–Colorado border. The Laramie Enduro 111K, an endurance mountain bike race of is held annually on Laramie Range trails.
Other annual events include the Poker Run recreational ski race held in the Snowy Mountains each February, and the Tour De Laramie, a bicycle rally with stops at local pubs held in May. The
Wyoming Marathon Races, a series of running and ultra-running events held in
Medicine Bow National Forest, are held annually each
Memorial Day weekend.
Trout fishing is another popular sport in and near Laramie. The Laramie River, which flows north into Wyoming from Colorado, is fished as are the smaller streams in both mountain ranges and the many small plains lakes in the Laramie Basin.
Other outdoor activities popular near Laramie include camping, picnicking, rafting on the Laramie River and the North Platte River, viewing of wildlife such as mule deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn, and general sightseeing. For of its length as it crosses the Snowy Range, the Highway 130 corridor has been designated a
National Forest Scenic Byway.
Parks and recreation
Laramie has 14 city parks. In addition to a public country club and golf course, Laramie residents also have access to the University of Wyoming's 18-hole golf course and to a wide variety of university recreation sites.
The Community Recreation Center has pools and several other facilities. The Community Ice Arena is open to the general public.
Environmental problems
According to a 2012 report by the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), a former industrial site for the production of aluminum, arsenic acid, strategic metals and cement now owned by L.C. Holdings, south of Laramie had
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...
concentrations in on-site water well samples 3,100-times higher than DEQ cleanup levels.
The site has been storing a 1,000-ton pile of contaminated flue dust from
Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex, an Idaho
superfund site
Superfund sites are Pollution, polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. Sites include landfills, mines, manufacturing facilities, processing plants where toxic waste h ...
, under a tarp since the 1980s.
[ In 2011 L.C. Holdings entered the DEQ's "Voluntary Remediation Program".
]
Government and laws
Laramie has a council–manager form of government. The council, the city's legislative body, consists of nine members who serve overlapping four-year terms. The council members set policy, approve budgets, pass ordinances, appoint citizen volunteers to advisory boards, and oversee the city staff. Three members of the council are elected from each of three wards. The council picks a mayor and vice-mayor once every two years at the first council meeting in January. Laramie is the county seat of Albany County and houses county offices, courts, and the county library.
In 2015, Laramie passed an LGBT anti-discrimination bill. The ordinance bans discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations such as bars and restaurants.
Education
Albany County School District#1, the only school district in the county, is headquartered in Laramie. It governs 19 public schools in an area of including Laramie, Centennial, Rock River, and rural locations. A total of about 4,000 students attend these schools, the Laramie fraction of which includes seven elementary schools, one middle school, Laramie High School, and Whiting High School. Snowy Range Academy, a charter school, serves children in grades K–7. The University of Wyoming also offers a Lab School (colloquially referred to as "Prep") for K–9 students.
St. Laurence, a Catholic school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, formerly served children in grades K–6. It opened in 1951 and in 2016 it had 30 students. It closed on June 30, 2016, as its costs had increased and the numbers of students had declined. Laramie Montessori School now occupies the campus.[
The main campus of the ]University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
is in Laramie. In fall 2024, about 8,200 students were enrolled there for live instruction at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, with nearly 2,300 others enrolled in online programs. A branch campus of Laramie County Community College is also in Laramie.
The WyoTech campus offers 9-month courses in Automotive Technology, Collision & Refinishing Technology, and Diesel Technology, as well as a variety of specialized industry programs—including High-Performance Power Trains, Street Rod, Trim and Upholstery, Chassis Fabrication, and Applied Service Management.
Media
The '' Laramie Boomerang'' is Laramie's main newspaper. The ''Branding Iron'' is a student-run newspaper at the University of Wyoming. Wyoming Public Television station KCWC-DT, licensed to Central Wyoming College in Riverton, has a transmitter near Laramie known as KWYP-DT.
Many radio stations broadcast from Laramie. Three are Wyoming Public Radio stations: KUWR (); KUWY (); and KUWL (). The others are KOCA-LP (); KCGY (); KIMX (); KLMI (); KRQU (); KARS (); KHAT (); and KOWB ().
In popular culture
'' The Man from Laramie'' was a 1955 western film starring James Stewart. It was shot in the Bonanza Creek Ranch and other places near Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
.
From 1958 to 1962, Laramie was the setting for ABC TV series '' Lawman'', starring John Russell and Peter Brown, and from 1959 to 1963, '' Laramie'' was also the name of an NBC western television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
, starring John Smith and Robert Fuller as ranch partners who operate a stagecoach station east of the city. In July 2017, the 83-year-old Fuller visited the city for the first time, serving as grandmaster of Laramie's annual Jubilee Days parade and festivities.
Laramie in its early days is also featured in Seasons 4 and 5 of the AMC western television drama series '' Hell On Wheels'', set in California and in Laramie.
In 2011, German actor and writer Joachim Meyerhoff wrote his first novel, ''Amerika'', about the year he spent as a student in Laramie. The book was a bestseller in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
Teenage Bottlerocket, an American punk rock band, formed in Laramie in 2000.
Infrastructure and transportation
Major highways
* East-West Interstate running from California to New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. Intersects US 287 in Laramie.
* Alternate Business Route running from I-80 just east of Laramie, concurrent with Grand Avenue, through the city to North 3rd Street, US 287.
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Airport
SkyWest Airlines (United) provides daily commercial flights between Laramie Regional Airport and Denver, Colorado. The airport, west of the central business district, is operated and financed by the City of Laramie and Albany County. In addition to commercial flights, the airport serves private and corporate planes and atmospheric research aircraft from the University of Wyoming.
Ground transportation
The University of Wyoming Transit System provides bus service in the city. While it is primarily centered on students and staff at the university, it is open to the general public.
Laramie has multiple taxi companies, as well as Uber
Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
service, which launched in 2017.
For intercity service, Laramie is served by Greyhound Lines, with service to and from Cheyenne and Fort Collins. Green Ride of Northern Colorado provides service from Laramie to Fort Collins and Denver International Airport.
Laramie had passenger rail service from the Union Pacific until 1971. Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
continued service until 1983 on the '' Pioneer'', then again from 1991 to 1997. Only curbside Amtrak Thruway bus service is currently available.
The former Union Pacific passenger depot in Laramie was donated to the Laramie Plains Museum in 1985, and then to the Laramie Railroad Depot Association in 2009, which operates it as a small museum and a venue for community events.
Utilities
The city's drinking water comes from the Big Laramie River, the largest single source, and wellfields in the Casper Aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
, and it is treated in a modern plant. The current wastewater plant began operation in 1998. The Solid Waste Division operates the city-owned landfill, about north of the city. Laramie has of streets and of alleys.
Notable people
* Craig Arnold (1967–c. 2009), poet, professor
* Thurman Arnold (1891–1969), lawyer
* Kim Barker, ''New York Times'' journalist and author
* Jim Beaver (born 1950), actor, writer, film historian
* William L. Carlisle (1890–1964), one of America's last train robbers, lived in the town
* Jaycee Carroll (born 1983), basketball player
* Jesseca Cross (born 1975), former track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete
* Tommy Davidson (born 1963), actor
* Sheridan H. Downey (1884–1961), lawyer, U.S. Senator
* Robert Eggers (born 1983), film director and screenwriter
* George Carr Frison (1924–2020), archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
* Grace Raymond Hebard (1861–1936), Wyoming historian, suffragist, pioneering scholar, prolific writer, political economist and noted University of Wyoming educator
* H. L. Hix (born 1960), poet, academic
* Raymond A. Johnson (1912–1984), aviation pioneer
* Tom Lubnau (born 1958), politician and lawyer who served as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015
* Cody Lundin (born 1967), survival instructor; teaches modern wilderness survival skills, primitive living skills, urban preparedness, and homesteading
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. H ...
* Timothy Mellon (born 1942), businessman, and the chairman and majority owner of Pan Am Systems
* William Mulloy (1917–1978), anthropologist
An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
* Edgar Wilson Nye (1850–1896), a.k.a. Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye, nineteenth-century humorist
A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way.
Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...
, lived in Laramie from 1876-1887 [American National Biography, v.16, p.565: "Nye settled in Laramie (City) where he rose to national fame ...]
* Wayde Preston (1929–1992), actor
* Chip Rawlins (born 1949), writer
* Ken Sailors (1921–2016), basketball player, credited with inventing the jump shot, graduated from Laramie High School, in 1943 led the University of Wyoming Cowboys in winning the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
* Matthew Shepard (1976–1998), University of Wyoming student, victim of hate-motivated murder
* Pete Simpson (born 1930), university administrator, historian, politician
* Gerry Spence (born 1929), trial lawyer
* Brad Watson (1955–2020), author, academic
* Jamila Wideman (born 1975), left-handed point guard basketball player, lawyer
References
Further reading
* Emmett D. Chisum, "Boom Towns on the Union Pacific: Laramie, Benton, and Bear River City." ''Annals of Wyoming'' 53#1 (1981): 2-13.
External links
City of Laramie
official website
Laramie Chamber of Commerce
Legends of America
*
Laramie Chamber of Commerce collection
is archived at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
.
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1868
Cities in Wyoming
Cities in Albany County, Wyoming
County seats in Wyoming
Micropolitan areas of Wyoming
1868 establishments in Wyoming Territory
Railway towns in Wyoming