Laramie [key], city (1990 pop. 26,687), seat of Albany co., SE Wyo., on the Laramie River; inc. 1874. It is a commercial, railroad, and industrial center for a livestock and timber region. Laramie has railyards, sawmills, a cement factory, and meat-storage facilities. Other industries produce beverages, cabinets, and computer software. Tourism is an important economic activity; the city is surrounded by mountain ranges and many ski, hunting, and fishing areas. The city is the seat of the Univ. of Wyoming. Laramie was settled in 1868 with the arrival of the railroad and grew with the development of the surrounding ranch country and local mining enterprises. It is headquarters for the Medicine Bow National Forest. Nearby is the site of Fort Sanders, established in 1866 to protect the Overland Trail and workers on the Union Pacific RR.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography
