Sheriff's Department - History

1867 Robert L. Foote

Robert Foote was the first sheriff in the area that would become Wyoming, appointed by the Dakota Legislative Assembly in 1867. He was the law in Laramie County which occupied virtually all the area which later became Wyoming Territory. He served until January 3, 1868, when the Dakota Assembly appointed a replacement after the county seat was moved fifty miles from Fort Sanders near Laramie to Cheyenne.

Foote was born in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, on February 2, 1834, leaving as a young man and sailing to the new world. Some years later Foote returned to his native Scotland for a brief period of time. But the call of the West haunted him, and he returned to his adopted country.

Ill health caused Foote to move to Arizona where he died on Nov. 12, 1916.

Information obtained from Wyoming Territorial Sheriff's, by Ann Gorzalka.