Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade Features World’s Largest Collection Of Wagons

Two hours before the Cheyenne Frontier Days parade Thursday, Franklin Favero had already scoped out the best seat on the streets. It’s the same spot he’s picked for the past 15 years.

“Sometimes (the parade) stops right here because of going around the corner,” the local resident explained. “That gives them some time after the corners to straighten up. The horses don’t always maneuver that corner very well.”

But Favero doesn’t come early just to nab his favorite parade seat. He has another mission in mind.

“I like to come early to pick up the trash,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “This parade is all free. They do a lot of free things for residents in Cheyenne, so I come out early to pick up the trash as kind of like a payback for all that they do for us.”

He also has a prime spot to see the world’s largest collection of operable horse-drawn wagons trundle over the streets of Cheyenne — about 160 of them in all.

Throughout the parade, Favero has a big smile and he’s waving at everyone he knows, as well as quite a few people he doesn’t.

He waves the most at the Hell’s Half Acre float, which depicts a rowdy party in a traveling bar.

“They look like they’re having a heck of a time,” he said, chuckling. “The women are pretty, and the guys are crazy like me. Someday, I’m gonna be on that Hells Half Acre float.”

Favero likes everything about the parade, though, not just the Hell’s Half Acre Float. He likes the military machines and the parade’s unique collection of horse-drawn historical carriages — among the largest operable historical collection in the world.

“I am a big history buff,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “And that’s why I love Cheyenne. Just look at all these old buildings on this street.”

He pointed toward the Wrangler Building and said, “1882 that building over there was built. And over there is the Plains Hotel. You don’t get this kind of history in a lot of other towns.”

Never Mind ‘1883,’ Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade Is It

Favero isn’t the only big fan of the Cheyenne Frontier Days parade.

Sam Gill and Mike Stein, of Texas, have both driven teams of horses for the famous “Yellowstone” prequel television series “1883,” but they would not miss the Cheyenne Frontier Days parade, where they get to pull what they describe as some of the “coolest wagons in the world.”

“This is the ‘Daddy of ’em All,’” Gill told Cowboy State Daily, referencing the CFD Rodeo’s famous nickname. “This is where everyone wants to come. They’ve got the most prestigious carriage collection in the world here, and it just doesn’t get any better than bringing our teams up here to do this, where we’re treated like royalty.”

Gill’s team pulled an actual fire station wagon during the parade Thursday, complete with fire hoses in the back, while Stein pulled an oil tank wagon that was once used to deliver heating oil to homes in the Cheyenne area.

“The wagons together all tell the history of Cheyenne,” longtime CFD volunteer and W-Heels member Mary Hartman told Cowboy State Daily. “We try to tell the story with the costume and the vehicle.”

W-Heels helps maintain period-appropriate costumes for the wagon drivers and passengers to wear. The people riding in each wagon wear costumes appropriate to the timeframe and function of each wagon, from the milk wagon that delivered milk in the Cheyenne area to the ambulance that took people to the hospital.

The wagons cover the range of life in the Old West. There’s a pioneer wagon, a mail wagon, and there’s even a hearse.

Some of the wagons have come from historic ranches, like the CY ranch owned by J.M. Carey, a cattle baron who was also once mayor of Cheyenne.

There are Yellowstone carriages, as well as a stagecoach for the Cheyenne-Deadwood trail, and there’s even a mobile lending library — the first of its kind in the country.

In all there are 160-some wagons, each showcasing a different aspect of Cheyenne history.

“These are all works of art, and they are precious,” Hartman said. “They are truly precious. We have one of the largest collections in the entire world.”

Popping Up Under The Stands Like Zucchini In July

One of the reasons Cheyenne ended up with so many carriages and wagons was thanks to Cheyenne Frontier Days.

“As people started getting cars, they had these wagons and buggies and they didn’t know what to do with them,” Hartman said. “So, they started shoving them under the stands because they thought Frontier Days could use them.”

The carriages showed up so often for a while, they were a bit like zucchini in July. There was a new one popping up just about every night.

“We have several carriages that are one of one or one of five in the whole world,” Hartman said.

Some are still driven by descendants of the families who donated the carriages in the first place.

“The Carey Mail is one that was given by the Carey family and it’s usually driven by a member of the Carey family,” Hartman said. “The last name isn’t Carey at this point, but it was their family that donated it, and their rule was they wanted it to go in the parade every year.”

Hartman credits Marietta Dinneen for the depth and quality of Cheyenne’s collection.

“She started writing information down and documenting as much information as possible about all of the wagons,” Hartman said. “Some of them, we have not a clue where they came from, because they were shoved under the stands. But, thanks to her, we have a database that shows what we know about every carriage in the collection.”

Some of the carriages aren’t driven in the parade, because they’re too fragile, or to special to risk damage.

Those get displayed in the museum instead, like the one that’s there now, which came from one of Cheyenne’s cattle barons. It has curved glass, and was sent to a specialist in South Dakota to restore.

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.