Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cheyenne

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Cheyenne

Cheyenne’s post office opened in 1892, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Neurosynthetic · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Cheyenne began

When was Cheyenne founded?

1892

The Cheyenne post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 468 in 19102020 census: 771134 years
Founding year: the first Cheyenne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cheyenne’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cheyenne are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,207 in 1980; 771 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Cheyenne’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cheyenne’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cheyenne, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,207

Peaked at 1,207 in 1980; 771 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Cheyenne came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cheyenne.

Read it all →

Cheyenne is the location of the Battle of Washita River (also called Battle of the Washita; Washita Battlefield; Washita Massacre), where George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked the sleeping Cheyenne village of Black Kettle on the Washita River on November 26, 1868.

Chapters1985–1987 Lady Bears2010–2013 Cheyenne Bears

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cheyenne, 1892 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Cheyenne post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Born hereWillis Franklin Jefcoat is born here
  5. 1951Born hereLinda Murphy is born here
  6. 1960Born hereFrank Lucas is born here
  7. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,207
By decade

Cheyenne, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Cheyenne Oklahoma Tornado2023Cheyenne Oklahoma TornadoCheyenne Tornado May 19772018Cheyenne Tornado May 1977
On the map

Cheyenne on the map, 1960 to 1998

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

Cheyenne on the 1960 USGS mapCheyenne on the 1989 USGS mapCheyenne on the 1998 USGS map1960Cheyenne sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cheyenne

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frank LucasAmerican politician · b. 1960
L
Linda MurphyAmerican politician · b. 1951
W
Willis Franklin JefcoatCanadian politician · b. 1908

Questions about Cheyenne’s history

What year was Cheyenne founded?

The Cheyenne post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.