Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chugwater

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 · Chugwater

Chugwater’s post office opened in 1872, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1930.

1872first post office
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chugwater’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chugwater began

When was Chugwater founded?

1872

The Chugwater post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 286 in 19302020 census: 175154 years
Founding year: the first Chugwater post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chugwater’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters, a National Historic Landmark.Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Chugwater’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 historic places in Chugwater

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters
Chugwater Soda FountainSwan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters★
Buildings★ landmark
★ Landmark
Swan Land and Cattle Company HeadquartersBuilding
All 2 listings
Chugwater Soda FountainBuilding · listed 2022

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

Help out

Start Chugwater’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSwan Land & Cattle Company, State Route…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Chugwater came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chugwater.

Read it all →

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.

ChaptersEarly expeditions to the ValleyFirst settlers & the coming of the railroadEstablishment of the townEtymology of the town's nameThe Chugwater horse called "Steamboat"

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chugwater, 1872 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Chugwater post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1964LandmarkSwan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Chugwater, decade by decade

Date unknown5 to date
Swan Land & Cattle Company, State Route 313Date?Swan Land & Cattle Company, State Route 313Swan Land & Cattle Company, Barn, State Route 313Date?Swan Land & Cattle Company, Barn, State Route 313Swan Land & Cattle Company, Manager's House, State Route 313Date?Swan Land & Cattle Company, Manager's House, State Ro…Swan Land & Cattle Company, Mercantile Store, State Route 313Date?Swan Land & Cattle Company, Mercantile Store, State R…Swan Land & Cattle Company, Main Office, State Route 313Date?Swan Land & Cattle Company, Main Office, State Route …
Today11 recent
1959 Cadillac Superior Ambulance, "Chugwater", A Paris Street Market at Aspen Grove car show 2026-05-0220261959 Cadillac Superior Ambulance, "Chugwater", A Pari…Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0082022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 008Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0072022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 007Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0062022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 006Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0052022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 005Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0042022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 004Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0032022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 003Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0022022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 002Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 0012022Chugwater, Wyoming at dusk - 001Chugwaters Lasting Legacy Windmill - "A Dempster -4"2010Chugwaters Lasting Legacy Windmill - "A Dempster -4"Chugwater Soda Fountain2010Chugwater Soda Fountain
On the map

Chugwater on the map, 1953 to 1990

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

Chugwater on the 1953 USGS mapChugwater on the 1978 USGS mapChugwater on the 1990 USGS map1953Chugwater sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Swan Land & Cattle Company, State Route 313
Retake this viewSwan Land & Cattle Company, State Route 313

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Chugwater, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 286

Between 175 and 286 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Chugwater

Nobody well known was born in Chugwater itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jim GeringerAmerican politician · b. 1944
C
Corey BramletAmerican football quarterback · b. 1983
C
Clyde VermilyeaUnited States Marine Corps general · b. 1937
W
Warren G. BrownAmerican rodeo performer · b. 1921

Questions about Chugwater’s history

What year was Chugwater founded?

The Chugwater post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Chugwater?

Two places: the Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters (listed 1966) and the Chugwater Soda Fountain (2022).

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 (11), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.