Chugwater, Wyoming
| Chugwater, Wyoming | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
The Chugwater Soda Fountain
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 Location in Platte County and the state of Wyoming. |
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 Chugwater, Wyoming
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| Coordinates: 41°45′21″N 104°49′32″W / 41.75583°N 104.82556°WCoordinates: 41°45′21″N 104°49′32″W / 41.75583°N 104.82556°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wyoming |
| County | Platte |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.06 sq mi (7.93 km2) |
| • Land | 3.06 sq mi (7.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 5,295 ft (1,614 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 212 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 216 |
| • Density | 69.3/sq mi (26.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 82210 |
| Area code(s) | 307 |
| FIPS code | 56-14165 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1609180 |
Chugwater is a town in Platte County, Wyoming, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 212.
The Chugwater area, with its proximity to Fort Laramie, was visited by some of the earliest Western expeditions, including that of Stephen Watts Kearny in 1845, and cattle were first wintered in the valley as early as 1859.
In 1870, the Hayden Expedition passed through what they referred to as "the valley of the Chug". Along on the expedition was famed Hudson River School painter, Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880), who sketched Chugwater Bluff, and later completed a large painting of it entitled "Valley of the Chugwater". Hayden's photographer, William Henry Jackson, noted in his journal that the Chugwater area was a wintering area for cattle: "A very conspicuous feature which we notice in descending the valley of the Chug is the high bluff of Lower Cretacious sandstone, which stretches away toward the northeast like a hugh wall. the jointage is so regular that it presents the appearance of massive mason-work gradually falling to decay. The sides of these sandstone walls are from 40 to 60 feet perpendicular, sometimes overhanging, large masses of which have broken off and fallen to the base. Their most striking feature, however is to weather into most picturesque castlllated forms. The valley of the Chug is 100 miles long, and is a favorite place to winter stock."
The first settler in the valley is reported to have been James Bordeaux (1814-1878), who opened a general store in 1868, located at the crossroads where the road from Cheyenne forks into the roads leading to Fort Fetterman and to Fort Laramie. In 1884, the Swan Land and Cattle Co. was established, and in 1886, the Cheyenne and Northern Railway was chartered to serve points north of Cheyenne in Wyoming. It was as a result primarily of the Swan Land and Cattle Co., and the railroad, that the town of Chugwater grew up.
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