Arvada

History

Arvada, Wyoming, is located on the west bank of the Powder River, about fifty miles northwest of Gillette. From 1888 to 1891, a stage line that ran from Sundance to Buffalo crossed the Powder River on a ferry boat at the future site of Arvada. The town of Suggs, Wyoming, was established on the east bank of the river in 1891, and a post office opened September 14, 1891. Suggs was named for a local rancher. During the summer of 1892, railroad crews working on the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, built a bridge across the Powder River at Suggs, although the railroad had only reached Gillette at that point in time. Suggs quickly became an "end of tracks town" with bars, brothels, and gambling establishments. Camp Bettens was built in mid-June 1892, and was abandoned in mid-November. When the railroad reached Suggs in 1892, railroad officials planned the new town of Arvada on the west bank of the Powder River, and Suggs was abandoned. The post office was moved from Suggs to Arvada on July 20, 1893. In the first decade of the 21st century, Arvada was included by the United States Census Bureau in a census designated place which was then named for the town. In 2011, the US Postal Service proposed closing the Arvada post office along with 42 other Wyoming post offices.

Race & ethnicity