Wheatland

History

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. By the fall of 1883, an irrigation system was constructed on the Wheatland flats including a 2,380 foot long tunnel to divert water for irrigation into Bluegrass Creek and the first two of the system's canals. The Cheyenne and Northern Railway line reached the Wheatland flats in July 1887, eventually extending to the Wyoming Central Railway at Wendover. The line was eventually sold to the Colorado and Southern Railway, controlled by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, and operated at Wheatland station. Lots in the town of Wheatland were auctioned in 1894. By 1915, many farms were established in the irrigation district and the population of the flats was 5,277. The Platte County Courthouse was built in Wheatland in 1917. The Wheatland Irrigation District is still the largest privately owned irrigation system in the country.

Geography

Wheatland is located at (42.053917, –104.959460). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Largest nearby schools

• Wheatland High School
  High · Wheatland · 271 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Libbey Elementary
  Elementary · Wheatland · 196 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• West Elementary
  Elementary · Wheatland · 188 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Wheatland Middle School
  Middle · Wheatland · 185 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Peak High School
  High · Wheatland · 15 students · 7.5:1 ratio