Laramie, city, seat of Albany County, southeastern Wyoming, on the Laramie River; incorporated 1874. Situated on a high plateau near the Snowy Range, Laramie is a commercial and transportation center for a ranching and timber-producing region; manufactures include cement and wood products. Tourism is also important. The University of Wyoming (1886) is here, and Medicine Bow National Forest is nearby. The site was crossed long ago by explorers, soldiers, and trappers (including a French fur trapper, Jacques La Ramie, for whom the city is named). Laramie grew after the railroad reached here in 1868. The ruins of Fort Sanders, built (1866) to protect railroad workers and persons using the Overland Trail, and a colossal bust of Abraham Lincoln are nearby. Population 24,410 (1980); 26,687 (1990); 25,035 (1998 estimate).
