Wyoming Statehood Day in the United States Date in the current year: July 10, 2024

Wyoming is one of the Mountain States located in the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Wyoming is arguably best known for its cowboy culture, which has earned it the unofficial nickname “Cowboy State”, as well as for sharing the Yellowstone National Park with Montana and Idaho.

Before the arrival of Europeans, who hadn’t been particularly interested in exploring the region, the territory of what is now Wyoming was inhabited by several Native American groups, such as the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota, and Shoshone.

Spain nominally claimed most of the southern part of the region, but maintained no presence there; nor did Mexico that “inherited” the territory following its independence. Following its defeat in the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded the region to the United States. The rest of modern-day Wyoming was claimed by France and became American after the Louisiana Purchase. French-Canadian and American trappers occasionally ventured into the area, but it remained largely uninhabited.

The region was named Wyoming in 1865, when a bill to provide a “temporary government for the territory of Wyoming” was introduced to Congress by James Mitchell Ashley. The name alluded to the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, mentioned in Thomas Campbell’s romantic epic Gertrude of Wyoming. It derives from the Munsee word that means “at the big river flat”.

The region’s population began to grow in 1867, when the Pacific Railroad reached the mountain region and the town of Chayenne was incorporated. Wyoming’s mineral deposits were scarcer than in neighboring Colorado, so it didn’t experience a population boom. Nevertheless, the population of Wyoming grew steadily.

The Wyoming Territory was officially established on July 25, 1868. Because of its low population, it couldn’t become a state for over two decades. Finally, Wyoming was granted statehood on July 10, 1890. The anniversary of its admission to the Union as the 44th state is now celebrated as Wyoming Statehood Day.

The biggest Wyoming Statehood Day celebration is held in Laramie. Laramie Jubilee Days began as a horse race in 1940 and has since evolved to include a number of different events held over multiple days, including a carnival, a parade, a golf tournament, outdoor concerts, various contests, and other downtown and community events. The celebration ends on July 10 with an annual rodeo.

Wyoming Statehood Day should not be confused with Wyoming Day. The latter is celebrated on December 10 to commemorate the day when women in Wyoming were granted the right to vote. It happened in 1869 — 21 years before Wyoming became a state and 51 years before the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment. Due to this, Wyoming’s official nickname is the “Equality State”.