The Most Famous Celebrity Guests At Cheyenne’s Hitching Post Inn
The final chapter of the Hitching Post Inn will likely be written this year, marking a sad end for one of Cheyenne's most historic venues. Here's a look back at the most famous celebrity guests to visit the "Second Capital".
Both John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy visited the Hitching Post. JFK and RFK spent the night there in 1960 while campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination. RFK returned eight years later campaiging for the 1968 nomination. Sadly, he was killed only two weeks later.
The Kennedys were among the many guests of former Wyoming Tribune publisher Tracy McCraken, who was a member of the National Democratic Committee. Former President Harry Truman was one of several politicians he hosted at the Hitching Post.
Plenty of prominent Republicans also visited, including then-President Ronald Reagan, who attended a fundraiser for Wyoming Senator Malcolm Wallop in 1982, and Dwight Eisenhower, who headlined a GOP fundraiser while campaigning for President in 1952.
Along with political dignitaries, a number of movie stars have bellied up to the bar at the Hitching Post. In 1979, Christopher Walken and Jeff Bridges partied at the Post on their way to film the movie Heaven's Gate, which was loosely based on Wyoming's infamous Johnson County War.
George Burns and Gracie Allen also stayed at the Hitching Post. So did former Mr. Universe and Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno.
It wasn't unusual for musicians to visit the Hitching Post, either. A long list of country music stars stayed there during Cheyenne Frontier Days. Iconic crooner Tom Jones is one of several famous singers who stopped in for a drink at the bar.