The city is located at the foot of Casper Mountain, the north end of the Laramie Mountain Range, along the North Platte River. The city was established east of the former site of Fort Caspar, which was built during the mid-19th century mass migration of land seekers along the Oregon, California and Mormon trails. Emigrant tracks are still visible along the North Platte River north of town. The town itself was founded well after Ft. Casper had been closed by the U.S. Army and destroyed by Indian tribes subsequent to its abandonment. Casper itself was founded as an anticipated stopping point during railroad expansion, and was an early rival to Bessemer Wyoming and Douglas Wyoming in commerce. The lack of a railhead doomed Bessemer Wyoming in favour of Casper, although Douglas Wyoming, which also had a railhead, survives to the present day. The presence of a railhead caused Casper to figure as the starting off point for the "Invaders" in the Johnson County War, as the special chartered train carrying them up from Texas stopped at that point. ---------------------------------- Although relatively small by national standards, its location within the region makes Casper a centre of banking and commerce. Since the discovery of crude oil in the region during the 1890s, Casper became the regional petroleum industry centre, and oil has figured prominently in its history from nearly the onset. Oil was first discovered in the infamous Salt Creek Oil Field in 1889, approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of Casper, and the first refinery in Casper was built in 1895. The city has featured a refinery ever since, although various refineries have been built and closed over the years. As recently as the early 1980s, the city was near or home to three refineries. Only one remains today, which is actually located in the adjoining town of Evansville, Wyoming. The town was once significant in the Western sheep industry, although perhaps not to the same extent as some other regional cities. A meat packing plant was established in the neighbouring city of Evansville in the 1930s, and was closed in the 1970s. The city has scheduled air service at Natrona County International Airport, a former army air base built during World War II. The current airport, having been built for World War Two bombers, has large runways and replaced a prior regional airport north of Casper which later became Bar Nunn. ----------------------------------------- With the development of the Wyoming coal and uranium fields in recent decades, the city has continued its role as an important centre for the energy industry. Casper and the rest of Wyoming is served by the Casper Star-Tribune, a newspaper with statewide circulation. Casper is also the site of Casper College. The city is home to the Casper Troopers, a drum and bugle corps in Drum Corps International. --------------------------------------- Casper was the hometown of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered in Laramie during October 1998 in an apparent anti-gay hate crime that received international media attention. In January 2005 Shepard's former high school classmate Guy V. Padgett III was elected mayor of Casper, having earlier become the first openly gay elected official in Wyoming history when he was elected to the City Council in 2003. NBC newsman Pete Williams has also been a member of the Casper gay community, serving as news director for K2 News before moving on to national broadcasting.