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Historic Douglas, WY

Douglas, Wyoming began as a temporary tent town called “Antelope, when settlers evacuated during the 1880’s Fort Fetterman, a military outpost established in 1867 by the U.S. Government on the edge of the Western Frontier. The impending railway route was being laid down from Nebraska due-west by the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad company . The town of Douglas was first conceived as 24 rectangular plats on a drafting board in the Chicago offices of the FE&MV railroad. The railroad named their new town “Douglas,” in honor of former Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas (who had been a vigorous exponent of westward expansion).

From August 30 through September 2 1886, the new town of Douglas was auctioned off, parcel by parcel on the delta just south of the Antelope Tent town. By December 1886, Douglas had three newspapers, two banks, twelve general stores, twenty smaller stores, hotels, restaurants, lumber yards, drug and jewelry stores, two dance halls, and twenty-one saloons, all servicing a population of 1,600 people. In 1888, Douglas nearly collapsed when the end-line of the railroad was moved to Casper. However, Douglas continued as a community due to the diversity of its resources and accessibility to the railroad.


Douglas, WY, the Converse County seat, is located along the banks of the North Platte River on the Oregon Trail. Douglas remained a small ranching community of about 2,000 until the late 70’s when coal, oil and uranium production became a driving force in the economy. Population escalated to 6,500 in the early 1980’s. Once the oil and uranium markets leveled off, population declined like many other Wyoming towns during that time.

Douglas, Wyoming is experiencing a resurgence in coal mining , coal bed methane, coal power generation, railroad expansion, new pipelines, increased production value of oil wells, and a strong job creation/population growth with over 5490 people. The future of Douglas shows pipeline construction, transmission developments, wind power generation, gas power generation, coal/coal gasification, railroad enhancements, uranium
development and economic diversification throughout the Douglas and Converse County area. With its rich cultural history and attractions, Douglas is a great place to live or visit to experience good ol’ western hospitality and the “wild west!”

Jackalope