Foreclosure Homes in Gillette, WY 67 Results

Gillette is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated at 30,560 as of July 1, 2017. Gillette is centrally located in an area involved with the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coalbed methane gas. The city calls itself the "Energy Capital of the Nation," noting that the state of Wyoming provides nearly 35% of the nation's coal. Over the last decade, Gillette had a population increase of 48% from the 2000 census of 19,646 residents.

History

Before its founding, Gillette started as Donkey Town, named after Donkey Creek, and then was moved and called Rocky Pile after Rocky Draw.

Gillette was founded in 1891 with the coming of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and incorporated on January 6, 1892, less than two years after Wyoming became a state. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad changed the name to Gillette for Edward Gillette, who worked as a surveyor for the company.

In November 1895, a fire destroyed most of Gillette. Only two saloons, two stores, and a restaurant survived.

In 1974, U.S. psychologist ElDean Kohrs used the town as the basic example of what he called the Gillette syndrome, the social disruption that can occur in a community due to rapid population growth. During the 1960s, Gillette doubled its population from 3,580 to 7,194 residents. Kohrs proposed that this fast increase of population caused the phenomenon known as Gillette syndrome, resulting in increased crime, high costs of living, and weakened social and community bonds.