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History · Cheyenne Wells

Cheyenne Wells dates to 1870, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Cheyenne County Jail and the Cheyenne County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1910.

1870founded
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cheyenne Wells’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cheyenne Wells began

When was Cheyenne Wells founded?

1870

Cheyenne Wells dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 270 in 19102020 census: 758156 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cheyenne Wells’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,154 in 1950; 758 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cheyenne Wells’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cheyenne Wells’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cheyenne Wells, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,154

Peaked at 1,154 in 1950; 758 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cheyenne Wells’ Wikipedia page.

The story

How Cheyenne Wells came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cheyenne Wells.

Read it all →

The community was named for water wells near the town site that were discovered and maintained by the Cheyenne Indians who lived in the area. The Cheyenne Wells, Colorado Territory, post office opened on May 8, 1876. Cheyenne County was created on March 25, 1889, with Cheyenne Wells as the county seat, and the Town of Cheyenne Wells was incorporated on May 14, 1890.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cheyenne Wells, 1870 to 1950

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingCheyenne Wells is established
  3. 1876Post officeThe Cheyenne Wells post office opens
  4. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Born hereNellie M. Payne is born here
  7. 1940In the archiveColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,154
By decade

Cheyenne Wells, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Cheyenne Wells, CO water tower2026Cheyenne Wells, CO water towerCheyenne Wells, Colorado2025Cheyenne Wells, ColoradoCheyenne Wells, Colorado aerial view (2025)2025Cheyenne Wells, Colorado aerial view (2025)The Horseman Monument, just outside Cheyenne Wells in far-eastern Colorado. The horseman on this side of the monument i…2016The Horseman Monument, just outside Cheyenne Wells in…Cheyenne Wells, Colorado 20112011Cheyenne Wells, Colorado 2011Cheyenne Wells, Colorado2006Cheyenne Wells, ColoradoCOMap-doton-CheyenneWells2005COMap-doton-CheyenneWells
On the map

Cheyenne Wells on the map, 1892 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cheyenne Wells. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cheyenne Wells on the 1892 USGS mapCheyenne Wells on the 1982 USGS map1892Cheyenne Wells sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cheyenne Wells.

Every building

Cheyenne Wells, building by building, 1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Cheyenne Wells fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
Retake this viewColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)], 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cheyenne Wells’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Cheyenne Wells

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Cheyenne County Jail
Cheyenne County JailCheyenne County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Georgian Revival1
Cheyenne County JailRomanesque
Cheyenne County CourthouseGeorgian Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Cheyenne Wells’ history

What year was Cheyenne Wells founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Cheyenne Wells’ post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1910 counted 270 people here.

What is on the National Register in Cheyenne Wells?

Two places: the Cheyenne County Jail (listed 1988) and the Cheyenne County Courthouse (1989).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.