- Wyoming Territory
The Territory of Wyoming was an organized territory of the
United States that existed from1868 until its admission to the Union as theState of Wyoming in1890 . Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boundaries of Wyoming Territory were identical those of the modern state of Wyoming.Pre-territory
Because of Wyoming's location at the intersection of the
Louisiana Purchase , theOregon Country , and theMexican Cession , the land which became Wyoming has a complicated history of territorial relationships. Portions of the territory which eventually fell under Wyoming's jurisdiction were at various points associated withWashington ,Oregon ,Idaho ,Dakota ,Nebraska andUtah , and had previously belonged to the independent states ofGreat Britain ,France ,Spain ,Mexico , andTexas .The portion of the Wyoming Territory east of the
continental divide was acquired by the U.S. in the1803 Louisiana Purchase and organized into theNebraska Territory in1854 . In1861 , the northern half of the Nebraska Territory, including the northeastern portion of future Wyoming Territory became part of theDakota Territory (left), while the southeastern portion remained with Nebraska, forming an extended Nebraska "panhandle" which included the settlement of Cheyenne. In1863 , theIdaho Territory was formed; it included the entirety of the modern states ofIdaho andMontana and almost all of modern Wyoming save the southwest corner.The portion of the Wyoming Territory west of the continental divide and north of the 42nd parallel was originally part of the
Oregon Country , which was organized into theOregon Territory in1848 ; whenOregon entered the union as a state under its present boundaries in1859 , this land became part of theWashington Territory (although its eastern part had been granted to theNebraska Territory in1854 (right). TheIdaho Territory subsumed this land as well in1863 .The southwestern corner of what became the Wyoming Territory, south of the 42nd parallel, became part of the United States with the
1848 Mexican Cession . An eastern section of this was once claimed by theRepublic of Texas . In1851 , the portion of this land west of the continental divide was made part of theUtah Territory , and, with the organization of theColorado Territory in1861 , most of it was transferred to the Nebraska Territory (left) and subsumed into the Idaho Territory in 1863. A small corner of Wyoming remained part of Utah until the creation of the Wyoming Territory in 1868.In
1864 , with the formation of theMontana Territory , the southeastern section of the Idaho Territory (most of modern Wyoming) became briefly part ofDakota Territory once again (right), although a strip of land along the western border of what would become Wyoming remained part of the Idaho Territory.Wyoming Territory
The territory was created by Act of Congress on
July 25 ,1868 . At the time of its formation, it took land from the Dakota, Idaho, and Utah Territories. It was admitted to the Union as the 44th state onJuly 10 ,1890 .ee also
*
Territorial evolution of the United States
*U.S. congressional delegates from Wyoming TerritoryExternal links
* [http://www.statehousegirls.net/wy/timeline/ Timeline of Wyoming History]
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