Lander, Wyoming | ||
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City | ||
Downtown Lander, 2008
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Motto: "Real. Western. Spirit." | ||
Location of Lander, Wyoming |
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Location in the United States | ||
Coordinates: 42°49′59″N 108°43′57″W / 42.83306°N 108.73250°WCoordinates: 42°49′59″N 108°43′57″W / 42.83306°N 108.73250°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Wyoming | |
County | Fremont | |
Area | ||
• Total | 4.67 sq mi (12.10 km2) | |
• Land | 4.67 sq mi (12.10 km2) | |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) | |
Elevation | 5,358 ft (1,633 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 7,487 | |
• Estimate (2012) | 7,677 | |
• Density | 1,603.2/sq mi (619.0/km2) | |
Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) | |
• Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) | |
ZIP code | 82520 | |
Area code(s) | 307 | |
FIPS code | 56-44760 | |
GNIS feature ID | 1609112 | |
Website | City of Lander Wyoming |
Lander is a city in, and the county seat of, Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. Named for transcontinental explorer Frederick W. Lander, Lander is located in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River. A tourism center with several dude ranches nearby, Lander is located just south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The population was 7,487 at the 2010 census.
Lander was known as Pushroot, Fort Brown, and Fort Auger prior to its current name. The town was named Lander in honor of General Frederick W. Lander, a famous transcontinental explorer who surveyed the Oregon Trail's Lander Cutoff. Several miles southeast of town near present-day U.S. Route 287 is the site of Wyoming's first oil well, circa 1884. The town was incorporated in 1890.
On October 1, 1906, Lander became the westward terminus of the "Cowboy Line" of the Chicago and North Western Railway, thus originating the slogan "where rails end and trails begin." Originally intended to be a transcontinental mainline to Coos Bay, Oregon, or Eureka, California, the line never went further west, and service to Lander was abandoned in 1972.
Lander is where the first paid rodeo took place, which continues to this day in coordination with the town's raucous Fourth of July festivities.
Lander is located at 42°49′59″N 108°43′57″W / 42.83306°N 108.73250°W (42.833035, −108.732633).