Torrington

History

Situated on the historic Mormon Trail and near the Oregon and California trails along the banks of the North Platte River, Torrington was founded in 1900 by W. G. Curtis (1857–1913), and named by him for his home town of Torrington, Connecticut. Originally a watering and coaling station for the CB&Q Railroad, which began passenger service in 1900, the town was a gathering place for nearby farmers and ranchers. In 1905, the first bridge was constructed over the North Platte River. A post office called Torrington was established in 1889 on Curtis' farm three miles west of the future town, with Curtis serving as postmaster and later as mayor. In 1908, the town incorporated in Laramie County. It had a bank, three general stores, a pharmacy with a soda fountain, a land office, and two hotels (for one of which the building, although modified, still exists at 1841 Main Street.) (which was still published in 2015) was established in 1911. The preserved historic Union Pacific Depot building now houses the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150626121204/http://www.city-of-torrington.org/departments/museum Goshen County Homesteaders Museum]. still held twice-weekly livestock auctions in 2015. It is the largest livestock auction operation and barn in Wyoming, and ranks as the third to fifth largest livestock auction in the United States. Drawing cattle from a nine-state region (Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, South Dakota, Montana and the bulk of Wyoming) the Torrington livestock auction barn attracts buyers from all over the nation. And, , Goshen County ranked number one in Wyoming for its cattle inventory. Today, when traveling between Torrington and Guernsey, Wyoming, motorists will be following the path of the historic Oregon and Mormon Trail as they make their…

Geography

Torrington is located at (42.066542, −104.182471). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Its elevation is . Torrington, situated on the North Platte River, has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification 'BSk').

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  271
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  260
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  247
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  235
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  209
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  195
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  189
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  180

Largest nearby schools

• Torrington High School
  High · Torrington · 305 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Torrington Middle School
  Middle · Torrington · 272 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elementary
  Elementary · Torrington · 263 students · 11:1 ratio
• Trail Elementary
  Elementary · Torrington · 250 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Lingle-Ft. Laramie Elementary
  Elementary · Lingle · 116 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Lingle-Ft. Laramie High School
  High · Lingle · 105 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• Lingle-Ft. Laramie Middle School
  Middle · Lingle · 72 students · 12:1 ratio
• Platte River School
  High · Torrington · 23 students · 23:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-05-28
  9 km ENE of Glendo, Wyoming
• M 2.7 — 2021-09-12
  19 km ENE of Hartville, Wyoming
• M 2.6 — 2021-02-27
  13 km WNW of Crawford, Nebraska
• M 3.5 — 2019-09-27
  9 km SW of Manville, Wyoming
• M 3 — 2018-01-06
  7 km SW of Guernsey, Wyoming
• M 2.9 — 2011-03-10
  22 km N of Van Tassell, Wyoming