In 1882, folks named Dayton in honor of Joe Dayton Thorne, a 21-year-old man who had moved to the area with his family from Estes Park, Colorado. In 1912, Dayton became the first town in America to elect a woman mayor, Susan Wissler. Her home, built in 1885, still stands and is listed on the National Record of Historic Places. Wyoming's first ever rodeo happened in Dayton in the early 1890's.