Former Cheyenne Hitching Post Inn Now Just A Sign And Memories

Photos by Doug Randall, Townsquare Media

As work continues on a redevelopment project on the site of the Historic Hitching Post Inn in Cheyenne, little remains at this point of the historic hotel other than a sign.

The developers of the Hitching Post Plaza project have said they plan to keep the sign as a reminder of the history of the site.

The Hitching Post was once the lodging establishment of choice for members of the Wyoming Legislature while that body was in session. It also was visited by famous national figures.

John F. Kennedy spent the night there in 1960 while campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Along with former President Harry Truman, JFK was one of many prominent Democrats hosted by former Wyoming Tribune publisher Tracy McCraken, who was a member of the National Democratic Committee.

Plenty of famous Republicans also visited, including then-President Ronald Reagan, who attended a fundraiser for Wyoming Senator Malcolm Wallop in 1982, Dwight Eisenhower, who headlined a GOP fundraiser while campaigning for President in 1952, and future President Richard Nixon, who dined there in 1951.

The Inn was built in 1925 as the Lincoln Court, which featured 25 rooms along the Lincoln Highway. It grew in popularity as long-distance road trips by car became more commonplace, and was renamed the Hitching Post Inn.

But the “Hitch,” as it was often called, fell into a steady decline over the years, and a 2010 fire that was later ruled to be arson destroyed much of the historic inn.

Another large fire in 2021 again hit the remaining structures on the site.

Plans for the Hitching Post Plaza were announced last year, and the location at this point has been cleared of almost everything except the historic sign that will remain on the location.