Historical Information

Brief Sheridan History by Charles Popovich

Sheridan was founded at the confluence of two beautiful mountain streams on May 10, 1882 by the early area pioneer, John D. Loucks.  Loucks named his town Sheridan
after his commanding general in the Civil War. 

He named one street Loucks, one Main and the others after pioneers like himself.  Loucks obtained government title to his forty acre town site and Sheridan was on the way.

The 1890 census showed Sheridan had 281 hardy pioneer residents.  In 2000 it had 15,804 in its "5440 acres within its encompassing city limits boundary of 37.5 miles."

From its beginning Sheridan was a major trade center to serve the people of the area whether they were involved in ranching, farming, lumbering, mining, railroading, manufacturing, building or any other thing that fit the times.

Within the City there had to be all the people services such as education, government, transportation, utilities, law enforcement, health care, recreation, merchants of all kinds including food and beverages.  And, all of that and much more is here today.

Sheridan is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Wyoming only about fifteen miles from the majestic Big Horn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest.  Sheridan could be called the hub of the historic wheel which includes the world famous Custer Battlefield to the north, one of the sixty-nine Sheridan area sites described in a book by this author. 

Sheridan has had many awards and honors over the years including one of the earliest to be designated as an "All America City."  And, for 2006 the True West Magazine named Sheridan the "No. 1 Western Town in America" from among the "500 Western towns competing for the honor."