Wyoming

Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum

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Last updated on December 20, 2023.

Cheyenne is home to one of the greatest rodeo festivals in the world, Cheyenne Frontier Days. It takes place over ten days every year in July. It hosts parades, horse racing events, and the world’s largest outdoor rodeo. Nearly 200,000 people come from all over the world to attend the festival, which has been held annually since 1897.

Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming — Cheyenne Frontier Days

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Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum

If you can’t make it to Cheyenne Frontier Days, you can learn all about it at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. It features exhibits on the history of the festival, the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame, Western art, and one of the world’s largest collections of carriages. The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Admission is US$12 for adults, US$6 for children 6-12, and free for children under 6 (as of November 2023).

Famous Rodeo Horses

The first exhibit is about some of the greatest rodeo horses in history, including Steamboat of the famous Bucking Horse and Rider, the state symbol of Wyoming.

There was also the Deadwood Stage. This historic stagecoach made 50 hour rides between Cheyenne and Deadwood, South Dakota, during the 1870s and 1880s. It was a 300 mile ride and the stagecoach would stop at stations every 10 miles to change horses. A display next to the Deadwood Stage talked a little about carriage service in Cheyenne.

Deadwood Stage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Deadwood Stage

Carriages in Cheyenne display at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Carriages in Cheyenne display

Cheyenne Frontier Days Exhibit

The next room was dedicated solely to the history of Cheyenne Frontier Days. It displayed all kinds of memorabilia, books, newspaper clippings, a popcorn wagon, photos, trophies, and more. Short movies played in a small theatre with historic footage of rodeos at the festival. There was also the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame.

Frontier Days exhibit at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Frontier Days exhibit

Carriages and Wagons

Continuing through the hallways, I came to a huge warehouse full of colorful carriages and wagons for several different uses. This was by far my favorite part of the museum. I was never into carriages but I found this exhibit fascinating. There were general use overland stage wagons, chuck wagons, and many more.

Carriage collection at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Carriage collection

Overland carriage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Overland carriage

Service wagons included a Yellowstone National Park tourist carriage, dairy wagon, gas wagon, and ice wagon.

Yellowstone National Park tourist carriage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Yellowstone National Park tourist carriage

Dairy wagon at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Dairy wagon

Gas wagon at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Gas wagon

Ice wagon at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Ice wagon

A US Mail wagon, ambulance carriage, and even a funeral carriage featured (maybe if the ambulance carriage didn’t get there in time).

US Mail wagon at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — US Mail wagon

Ambulance carriage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Ambulance carriage

Funeral carriage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Funeral carriage

The one that really caught my eye was the library wagon, complete with bookshelves.

A motorized fire engine was also on display. It was out of place but I thought it was cool, anyway.

Fire engine at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming — Fire engine

Author nomadicniko

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.