The county seat (1876, 4,296 feet) was named for wells Cheyenne Indians had dug on the original townsite five miles north on the Smoky Hill Route. The town moved here to accommodate the Kansas Pacific Railroad and developed a water system (1887), a hotel (1888), and streetlights fueled from nearby gas wells. Such progressive and aggressive leadership enabled Cheyenne Wells to capture and keep the county seat and otherwise to dominate the county from the beginning. About half of Cheyenne County's 2,400 residents live here.
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