Following the end of Indian hostilities in the late 1870's, the grasslands of what is now Converse County became home to hundreds of thousands of Texas Longhorns. In the early 1880's the open-range cattle industry flourished, promising great profits to stockmen and buyers if herds could be marketed in the east. Railroads were the key, as track was being laid at an increasingly rapid rate after the Civil War. In 1885, the United States Congress granted the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad the right to cross the Fort Robinson Military Reservation in Nebraska. On August 26, 1886, the railroad reached what became the new town of Douglas. The depot was built in 1886 and remained open continuously until the 1950's, when the Chicago and North Western Railroad, successor to the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, closed the passenger depot. It was then used for freight storage and company use until the mid 1970's. The Chicago and North Western later abandoned its tracks and facilities, and the City acquired the property in 1991. The site includes the depot structure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a seven-car train display donated by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture in 1993.