Cheyenne, WY

Cheyenne and the military post west of it began within weeks of one another in 1867. On July 4, Union Pacific established its mountain-region headquarters at Crow Creek Crossing as crews pushed the transcontinental railroad west. The town grew around the tracks. A few weeks later, the Army established Fort D. A. Russell three miles away to protect railroad workers. That post became F. E. Warren Air Force Base, the Air Force’s oldest continuously active military installation. The paired origin remains visible: Union Pacific tracks still cross downtown, and the base still occupies the city’s western edge.

Cheyenne’s role as Wyoming’s capital adds another concentration of state-government work near downtown. The State Capitol dates to 1888 and houses the executive and legislative branches; after a four-year restoration, it reopened to the public in 2019. In 2026, it remained open for weekday self-guided tours. Government and defense remain prominent in the local economy. In 2023, federal military employment accounted for 3,958 jobs and state government for 3,225. Federal civilian work, local health services, and public education also ranked high, alongside finance, warehousing, and truck transportation. As of June 2023, the 90th Missile Wing employed about 2,800 military and 550 civilian staff at F. E. Warren. In 2023, its Minuteman III fields covered 9,600 square miles across Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado, tying work in Cheyenne to a much larger operating territory.

The old passenger depot gives the railroad legacy a current civic setting. Construction began in 1886, and Union Pacific used the sandstone building as Cheyenne’s main station before donating it to the city in the 1990s. The depot is also listed as a National Historic Landmark. It now holds the Cheyenne Depot Museum and faces a plaza used for concerts, markets, and public gatherings. Building renovations finished in May 2025, adding a pedestrian patio and updating interior spaces. A second round of plaza work added shade, repaired brickwork and drainage, and installed fiber internet. The city marked its completion on June 5, 2026, immediately before the season’s first Fridays on the Plaza concert. Passenger service has ended, yet the station and tracks still define the place where downtown gathers.

Cheyenne Frontier Days extends that railroad-era story into the last full week of July. Union Pacific passenger agent Frederick Angier proposed the original Frontier Day in 1897, and planners assembled the first program at a saloon on 16th Street. Pony races, bronco busting, and steer roping tested ranch skills; the next year brought a second day and a parade. The event now centers on professional rodeo at Frontier Park, accompanied by parades, pancake breakfasts, a Native American Village, and evening performances. Several activities spill into downtown. The pancake breakfast is served on Depot Plaza, within sight of the tracks that first brought Cheyenne into being. During the July celebration, parade routes and breakfast tables bring that history out of museums and into downtown streets.