Platte County History

Rich in history, each Platte County town has a unique and interesting story.

In 1911, Platte County was created from a portion of Laramie County, which joins it to the south. Platte County takes its name from the North Platte River.

Before a modern water system was developed in Wheatland, water was brought to each home by ditches which ran down each street from Canal No. 2 to irrigate lawns and gardens and to furnish water for homes. Wheatland was incorporated in 1905, and became the county seat of Platte County in 1911.

The town of Chugwater is one of the older settlements in Platte County. The first building at this site was erected in the fall of 1867 after the government road had been opened through this section. The town takes its name from Chugwater Creek, on which it is situated.

Guernsey, the second largest settlement in Platte County, occupies a site on the old Oregon Trail, but the town was not established until the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad reached that area in 1902. The town was founded by the Lincoln Land Company, which filed incorporation papers in May 1880 and was named in Honor of Charles A. Guernsey legislator, rancher, and promoter.

Glendo began as one of the first of five telegraph stations on the Overland Stage Express at the Horseshoe Stage Station. The town was established at its present location when the railroad came through.

In the early eighteen-eighties rich deposits of copper were found in the Hartville Uplift, a range of Black Hills adjacent to Guernsey. The town for the mining district was located near Indian Springs and given the name Hartville, in honor of Colonel Verling K. Hart, commandant of Fort Laramie, who had located the Keystone Copper Claim high on the mountain overlooking the spring.