Lander, Wyoming

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Lander, Wyoming
Location of Lander, Wyoming
Location of Lander, Wyoming
Coordinates: 42°49′59″N 108°43′57″W / 42.83306, -108.7325
Country United States
State Wyoming
County Fremont
Area
 - Total 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km²)
 - Land 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km²)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation 5,358 ft (1,633 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 6,867
 - Density 1,554.0/sq mi (600.0/km²)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
 - Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 82520
Area code(s) 307
FIPS code 56-44760[1]
GNIS feature ID 1609112[2]

Lander is a city in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. Named for transcontinental explorer Frederick W. Lander, it is the county seat of Fremont County[3]. Lander is located in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River. A tourism center that has several dude ranches nearby, it is located just off the southern border of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The population was 6,867 at the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] History

On October 1, 1906, Lander became the westward terminus of "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. [4]

[edit] Economy

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

Present day Lander is home to numerous State and Federal government offices, including the U.S. Forest Service (Washakie Ranger District, Shoshone National Forest), the Bureau of Land Management (Lander Field Office), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a field office of the FBI, as well as the Wyoming State Training School and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. One of the country's major bronze foundries, Eagle Bronze, is located in Lander, as is the International Headquarters of the National Outdoor Leadership School and other environment and land-related non profit organizations including offices of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, the Wyoming office of The Nature Conservancy and the Wyoming Wildlife Federation.

In addition to the public sector and a traditional agriculture and grazing economy, the Economy of Lander and the region are supported by a substantial tourism economy. Located at the foot of the Wind River Mountains, Lander serves as a point of departure for camping, hunting, fishing, wilderness travel, climbing and mountaineering. In addition to the wilderness climbing and mountaineering opportunities in the Wind River Range, rock climbing areas close to town (most prominently, Sinks Canyon and "Wild Iris," located at Limestone Mountain) attract significant numbers of rock climbers to Lander.

The town is one of the headquarters of Asthmatic Kitty Records, founded by Sufjan Stevens.

[edit] Geography and Climate

Lander is located at 42°49′59″N, 108°43′57″W (42.833035, -108.732633)[5].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), all of it land.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 63 68 76 82 93 100 101 101 94 85 70 64
Norm High °F 31.9 37.4 47.5 56.5 66.5 78.5 86.3 84.8 73 59.5 41.8 32.6
Norm Low °F 8.7 13.9 23.5 31.3 40.3 48.9 55.4 54.1 44.4 33.2 18.9 9.9
Rec Low °F -37 -28 -16 -2 18 25 39 35 10 -3 -18 -37
Precip (in) 0.52 0.54 1.24 2.07 2.38 1.15 0.84 0.57 1.14 1.37 0.99 0.61
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 6,867 people, 2,794 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,554.0 people per square mile (599.9/km²). There were 3,036 housing units at an average density of 687.0/sq mi (265.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.81% White, 0.15% African American, 5.99% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.48% of the population.

There were 2,794 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,397, and the median income for a family was $41,958. Males had a median income of $30,602 versus $20,916 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,389. About 9.9% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

In 2007, Wyoming Catholic College, a four-year, coeducational, private college was founded in Lander. The college was only the second four-year brick and mortar institution of higher education ever in Wyoming. It was designed to give students a general liberal arts education while allowing them to develop morally and spiritually in a small Catholic community. The college received its Apostolic Blessing in 2005 from Most Reverend David L. Ricken, DD, JCL, the Bishop of Cheyenne. At present, Wyoming Catholic College is actively pursuing accreditation through The American Academy for Liberal Education.[6]

Lander Valley High School is the main high school.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Timeline
  5. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ Wyoming Catholic College. Wyoming Catholic College. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.

[edit] External links

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Municipalities and communities of
Fremont County, Wyoming
County seat: Lander
Cities

Lander | Riverton
Towns
CDPs
Unincorporated
communities