page_title: History of Wyoming
section_title: Territory and statehood
hierarchical_section_title: History of Wyoming / Territory and statehood
caption_attribution_description: English: Wyoming territory coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)
context_page_description: There is evidence of prehistoric human habitation in the region known today as the U.S. state of Wyoming stretching back roughly 13,000 years. Stone projectile points associated with the Clovis, Folsom and Plano cultures have been discovered throughout Wyoming. Evidence from what is now Yellowstone National Park indicates the presence of vast continental trading networks since around 1000 years ago. The Union Pacific Railroad played a central role in the European settlement of the area. Wyoming became a U.S. territory in 1868 and became the 44th U.S. state in 1890. It was the first state to grant women the right to vote, in 1869.
context_section_description: The name was used by Representative J. M. Ashley of Ohio, who introduced the Ashley Bill to Congress to provide a "temporary government for the territory of Wyoming". The name "Wyoming" was made famous by the 1809 poem Gertrude of Wyoming by Thomas Campbell. The name is derived from the Delaware (Munsee) name xwé:wamənk, meaning "at the big river flat", originally applied to the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.
  After the arrival of the railroad, the population began to grow steadily in the Wyoming Territory, which was established on July 25, 1868. Unlike Colorado to the south, Wyoming never experienced a rapid population boom in the 19th century from any major mineral discoveries such as gold or silver.
  Inclusion of women's suffrage in the Wyoming constitution was debated in the constitutional convention, but ultimately accepted. The constitution was mostly borrowed from those of other states, but also included an article making all the water in Wyoming property of the state. Wyoming overcame the obstacles of low population and of being the only territory in the U.S. giving women the right to vote, and the United States admitted Wyoming into the Union as the 44th state on July 10, 1890.
caption: Wyoming territory historical coat of arms (illustrated, 1876). This territorial design was re-adopted at statehood (1890) until a complete redesign in 1893.
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