Name: Rawlins
County: Carbon
Authority Name: Rawlins (Wyo.)
GNIS Entry
Longitude: 1071419W
Latitude: 414728N
Legal Description:
Elevation: 6729/2051
(ft/m)
Feature Type: Populated Place
Origin of Name:
City in Carbon County, Wyoming, named for John A. Rawlins, secretary of war under President Grant.
Source: Gannett
The spring from which the town of Rawlins took its name was so designated in honor of General J. A. Rawlins, Secretary of War under President Grant. The town is a shipping point for a large area both north and south of the railroad. It is the connecting station for Baggs and Dixon, in southern Wyoming, 70 miles to the south, and before the building of the "Moffat road" (Denver and Salt Lake) it supplied Craig, Hayden, and other places still farther south in northwestern Colorado. It is also a railroad division point.
Source: Guidebook of the Western United States
Named after General Rawlins of Civil War fame. A party headed by Granville M. Dodge and General Rawlins discovered a spring near the present location of Rawlins. General Rawlins, who was very thirsty after their long march said that if anything were ever named after him, he wanted it to be a spring of water, to which Dodge replied “we will name this Rawlins Spring."
Source: WPA
Other Names: Rawling's Spring, Rawling's Springs
Alternative Spellings:
History:
Rawlins Post Office was established as Rawling's Springs Post Office on October 22, 1868 in Laramie County prior to the formation of Carbon County. Its name was changed to Rawlins Post Office on May 4, 1876. James Frances was the first postmaster.
Source: Wyoming Post Offices
County seat of Carbon County, on the Union Pacific Railroad, 173 miles northwest from Cheyenne and 693 miles from Omaha. Third city in importance in the state. The Union Pacific Railroad has extensive shops, employing together with trainmen 325 people. The extensive iron deposits near the city, the large pure limestone deposits with coal in abundance within 7 miles of the city, the stockraising country to the north and the rapidly developing mining districts to the north, east and south assure the commercial future of Rawlins. Trade reaches from 50 to 200 miles. Recognized shipping point from which hundreds of thousands of pounds of freight are hauled to supply settlements, the merchants at Miner's Delight, Atlantic City and other points on the north; also for Baggs, Dillon and Dixon in the southern part of Carbon County, and Four-Mile, Slater, Craig, Hayden and northwestern Colorado. Outlying points are reached by stage. The State Penitentiary, costing $100,000, is located here. The city has all the modern improvements, and is enjoying a good growth.
Source: Wyoming State Business Directory, 1910-11
Stories:
Maps:
1:24000 Quadrangle: Rawlins
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More Information:
Pictures:
Source: Wyoming State Archives