Chadron

Understand

In historic times, Native American tribes such as the Oglala Lakota (Oglala Sioux Tribe), and Cheyenne lived in the area. The Sioux used this territory as a hunting ground after pushing other tribes to the west.

Chadron is named for Louis Chartran, a French-Indian (Métis) fur trapper who ran a trading post on Chadron Creek in 1841. He was married to a Native American woman.

In 1884 the town was established when the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad was constructed through the area from Omaha, Nebraska, en route to Wyoming.

Do

Every July, Chadron hosts an annual community celebration called Fur Trade Days, in honor of its origins as a fur and hide trading post for French and other settlers in the Great Plains during the 19th century.