Cy Warman (1855–1914) was an American-
Canadian journalist, author, and poet known 
as the "Poet Laureate of the Rockies." He 
wrote extensively about the lives of railroad 
workers and the development of railroads, 
which played a vital role in shaping Western 
Canada. Born in Greenup, Illinois, he grew 
up on a homestead granted to his father 
for service in the Mexican War. With limited 
formal education, he began working at age 
five as a water boy for a railroad construction 
crew. Later, he considered becoming a 
wheat buyer but lost almost everything in a 
market crash. After several failed ventures, 
Warman moved to Colorado in 1880, where 
he worked planting orchards and later in a 
smelter plant.
During Colorado's railroad boom, Warman 
was drawn to railroading. He joined the 
Denver & Rio Grande as a labourer, quickly 
earning a promotion to fireman. Within three 
years, he became a locomotive engineer. 
Due to health reasons, Warman had to 
give up the railroad work physically, but his 
passion for it in mind and spirit endured. 
Though his time as an engineer was brief, 
his experiences during this period gave him 
a future livelihood recounting the noises, 
smells, humour and romance of railroading.
Warman began writing poems and stories 
about railroad life. In 1888, Warman became 
editor of the publication Western Railway. 
He sold his interest in Western Railway 
in March 1892 and relocated to bustling 
Creede, Colorado where he co-founded 
the Creede Chronicle during the height of 
the region’s silver boom. The town rapidly 
grew from a handful of residents to 10,000, 
attracting miners, gamblers, businessmen, 
and infamous outlaws. Warman’s newspaper 
earned a reputation for honesty and truth, 
with Warman advocating for law and order in 
a lawless frontier town. The City of Creede, 
Colorado, Warman's "sister city," continues 
to honour Cy Warman's legacy.
After riding from New York City to Chicago 
in the cab of locomotive, he wrote a railroad 
story, A Thousand Miles in a Night for 
McClure's Magazine in 1892. This was the 
first of a series of widely popular True Tales 
of the Railroad articles written for McClure's, 
gaining Warman national recognition. His 
writings caught the attention of the New 
York Sun, who began to publish his work, 
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Our city was named after Cy 
Warman to honour his association 
with railroads and his contributions 
to literature that celebrated the 
railway industry. 
“I couldn’t help writing poetry 
with such scenery as that to run 
my engine through.” - Cy Warman
Cy Warman
history

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