Hiram M. Hook ( 1830/18311868) was an American politician who served as the first
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...
, while it was still a part of the
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...
with a population of around 600 people.
Career
Hiram M. Hook was born around 1831, in Pennsylvania. Hook served as the stage station manager in Dogtown, Nebraska, nine miles east of
Fort Kearny
Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the Western United States during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Colonel and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located ...
.
From 1864 to 1865, Hook and James Moore pastured cattle in a
glade north of
Pleasant Valley in
Larimer County
Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...
,
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
; the area would be later named the Hook & Moore Canyon. During this time he operated a store in
Laporte with a man named French.
In 1867, he moved his cattle to Cheyenne, Dakota Territory.
In Cheyenne he operated a general store called the Great Western Corral.
Mayor
On August 7, 1867, a meeting was organized in Cheyenne for the purpose of creating a provisional municipal government. On August 9, Ed Brown, who served as the chairman of the meeting, was nominated for the town's mayoralty while another group nominated Hook. On August 10, Hook defeated Brown by five votes and the slate of Hook candidates defeated all of the Brown candidates except for E. Melanger, who was elected as city marshal. Hook served as mayor until January 30, 1868.
Death
Hook, Jesse Ewing, and several other silver prospectors traveled on the
Green River in three boats during the summer of 1868. While navigating the river, his raft overturned due to a whirlpool and he drowned. His widow offered a $1,000 reward for the location of Hook's burial site, but it resulted in multiple false grave sites.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hook, H. M.
1830s births
1868 deaths
19th-century mayors of places in Wyoming
Mayors of Cheyenne, Wyoming
People from Pennsylvania