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B+History
History · Wheatland

Wheatland’s post office opened in 1887, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #10 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1910.

1887first post office
2on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wheatland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wheatland began

When was Wheatland founded?

1887

The Wheatland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 796 in 19102020 census: 3,588139 years

How historic is Wheatland?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wheatland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wheatland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wheatland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #10 of 28 in Wyoming. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wheatland’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.3% of homes (±5.8) · typical WY town 12.0% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 25 historic buildings, 70.4 per 10,000 residents · typical WY town 25.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
Wyoming towns of 2,500+ (28)Ahead of 67%

Wyoming towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wyoming town has 25.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wheatland’s 70.4 sits above most of its state (79% of Wyoming towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Wheatland’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 5,816 in 1980; 3,588 people lived here in 2020.A historic districtThe Wheatland Downtown Historic District takes in 24 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1903 to 1918, drew every building in Wheatland.
★ What stands out · People over time

Wheatland, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,816

Peaked at 5,816 in 1980; 3,588 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 25 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Platte County Courthouse
Platte County CourthouseWheatland Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Neoclassical Revival1
Platte County CourthouseNeoclassical Revival
All 2 listings
Wheatland Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2021

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

Every building

Wheatland, building by building, 1903–1918

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 year, then a sheet.

Wheatland fire insurance map, 1903, sheet 11903Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Wheatland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wheatland.

Read it all →

Before the late 19th century, the area around the future site of Wheatland was a flat, arid landscape with desert-like vegetation. In 1883, local rancher and judge Joseph M. Carey, along with Horace Plunkett, John Hoyt, Morton Post, Francis E. Warren, William Irvine, and Andrew Gilchrist, established the Wyoming Development Company. The company hoped to irrigate in the Wheatland Flats and profit from new development.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wheatland, 1887 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Wheatland post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903In the archiveTownscape of
  5. 1910In the archiveWheatland, WY - c. 1910
  6. 1921Born hereWarren G. Brown is born here
  7. 1937Born hereClyde Vermilyea is born here
  8. 1944Born hereJim Geringer is born here
  9. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1968In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF SOUTH WEB, LOOKING NORTH - Laramie River Bridge, County Road 204
  11. 1977In the archivePlans - William H. Padgett House, Flying X Ranch
  12. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 5,816
  13. 1983Born hereCorey Bramlet is born here
By decade

Wheatland, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
Townscape of1903Townscape ofWindsor Hotel in1903Windsor Hotel inWheatland, WY - c. 1910c. 1910Wheatland, WY - c. 1910
1920s–1950snothing 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
1960s–1970s6 items
DETAIL VIEW OF SOUTH WEB, LOOKING NORTH - Laramie River Bridge, County Road 2041968DETAIL VIEW OF SOUTH WEB, LOOKING NORTH - Laramie Riv…VIEW LOOKING EAST TOWARD SOUTH WEB - Laramie River Bridge, County Road 2041968VIEW LOOKING EAST TOWARD SOUTH WEB - Laramie River Br…VIEW LOOKING EAST TOWARD WEST PORTAL - Laramie River Bridge, County Road 2041968VIEW LOOKING EAST TOWARD WEST PORTAL - Laramie River …VIEW LOOKING NORTH TOWARD SOUTH WEB - Laramie River Bridge, County Road 2041968VIEW LOOKING NORTH TOWARD SOUTH WEB - Laramie River B…Plans - William H. Padgett House, Flying X Ranch1977Plans - William H. Padgett House, Flying X RanchWest and North Elevations and Section - William H. Padgett House, Flying X Ranch1977West and North Elevations and Section - William H. Pa…
1980s–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
Today3 recent
Jitters Espresso2004Jitters EspressoJitters Espresso2004Jitters EspressoJake's Barber Shop, 611 8th Street2004Jake's Barber Shop, 611 8th Street
On the map

Wheatland on the map, 1951 to 1990

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

Wheatland on the 1951 USGS mapWheatland on the 1990 USGS map1951Wheatland 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 Wheatland.

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.

Townscape of
Retake this viewTownscape of, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Wheatland

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

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
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Wheatland’s post office has been open since 1887.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Irvine Home Trust Retirement Homes
1cemetery inside Wheatland
Wheatland

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Wheatland’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTownscape of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ChugcreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wheatland’s history

What year was Wheatland founded?

The Wheatland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wheatland rank for history?

Wheatland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #10 of 28 in Wyoming. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Wheatland?

Two places: the Platte County Courthouse (listed 2008) and the Wheatland Downtown Historic District (2021).

How old are the homes in Wheatland?

15% of Wheatland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wyoming town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.