About the town » Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming, United States

Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the 2010 census. Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287. Laramie was settled in the mid-19th century along the Union Pacific Railroad line, which crosses the Laramie River at Laramie. It is home to the University of Wyoming, Wyoming Technical Institute, and a branch of Laramie County Community College. Laramie Regional Airport serves Laramie. The ruins of Fort Sanders, an army fort predating Laramie, lie just south of the city along Route 287. Located in the Laramie Valley between the Snowy Range and the Laramie Range, the city draws outdoor enthusiasts because of its abundance of outdoor activities. In 2011, Laramie was named as one of the best cities to retire by Money Magazine due to its scenic location, low taxes and educational opportunities. From 1959 to 1963, Laramie was also the name of an NBC western television series, starring John Smith and Robert Fuller as ranch partners who operate a stagecoach station twelve miles east of the city. The city and its name became darkly synonymous with homophobic violence following the agonized torture-slaying of Matthew Shepard on October 6, 1998. Shepard, a young gay man, was tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, brutally beaten and left to die. The widely-reported crime served as the basis of The Laramie Project, a documentary-style theatre tribute to Shepard and journalism-based exploration, followed by an HBO film and ten-year anniversary production looking at the event's aftermath and impact.