Fire Rips Through 134-Year-Old Historic Cheyenne Pumphouse

A fire ripped through Cheyenne’s historic 1892 brick and stone pumphouse on Saturday night, raising questions about whether the building can still be saved. Someone reported smoke and flames after 9:30 p.m., and by the time firefighters responded, parts of the roof had already caved in, said Cheyenne Fire Rescue Chief Andrew Dykshorn. “The roof was partially involved and had caved in by the time we got there,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about two hours but remained on scene Sunday investigating and tending to hot spots. Because the building is not safe to enter, crews are flying drones inside to assess the damage. Dykshorn said it is too early to determine the cause and that he is not aware of anyone seen entering or leaving before the fire.

Maren Kallas, vice president of Historic Cheyenne Inc., has spent years researching the pumphouse and working to save it. Watching it burn “was devastating, it was gut-wrenching,” she said. “It was like witnessing a death, for sure.” But she noted that because of its stone structure, the roof and rafters were mostly what burned—elements already targeted for replacement in any future renovation. “It’s connected to Cheyenne’s origin story, so to lose it would be a profound cultural loss,” she said. “It was 122 years ago almost to the day that the largest flash flood in Cheyenne’s history happened in 1904 and the pumphouse was completely flooded. Now a big fire in 2026, and it’s still standing somehow, so it’s not a lost cause.”

The pumphouse was spared from demolition by the Cheyenne City Council in December, which set aside a January deadline for someone to buy or lease the building in favor of a resolution to “place the property back into beneficial use.” Estimates for restoration have come in at $4 million, and the city has struggled to find a buyer.

News of the fire sparked wild speculation on social media that it was deliberate, with some comparing it to the 2010 blaze that destroyed the old Hitching Post Inn. Dykshorn said he has seen no evidence of arson and that it is too early to speculate. Kallas called the conspiracy theories “ridiculous.” She said a fire investigator told her that less than 24 hours before the fire, Cheyenne police had kicked out a group of people inside the pumphouse who had started a small fire. “It’s not a conspiracy,” she said. “It’s just a tragedy.”

Megan Stanfill, executive director of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming, said a fire like this has long been a concern because the building attracts vagrants who start fires to keep warm. “We’re lucky it’s a stone structure and a lot of the wood is the roof and rafters,” she said. “The plan all along was to completely replace the roof. We’re pretty hopeful now that this might actually be helpful in our efforts to bring attention to the building and clear a pathway.” Kallas added, “There is a genuine fear that the council will renege on their commitment, because if they get rid of that building, nothing can be put there in its place. It’s in a flood plain.” She praised the fire department for fighting the fire with preservation in mind. “This is a heroic story of our fire department that put this out while saving it to still be saved,” she said.