Old Colorado City
Encyclopedia
Old Colorado City, formerly Colorado City, is a national historic district
in the city of Colorado Springs
. Its approximate boundaries are U.S. Highway 24 to the south, 32nd Street to the west, 13th Street to the east and Uintah Street to the north, with the town square restructured as Bancroft Park.
Colorado City was founded on May 22, 1859, when the Colorado Town Company, a group mainly from Denver
and Auraria, laid claim to two square miles of land. They envisioned that Colorado City would be a major supply hub via Ute Pass
for the new gold mines in South Park and the Blue River, where major strikes in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush had recently been made. The name Colorado was chosen (the area was still part of Kansas Territory
) because the Blue River mines were supposed to be on the headwaters of the Colorado River. The town prospered in late 1859 and early 1860.
However, by the summer of 1860, newly built roads from Denver
to South Park and the Blue River had diverted most of the traffic to and from the mines, and Colorado City commerce instead shifted towards serving the agriculture of Colorado's eastern plains. (Eventually General Palmer
's Denver & Rio Grande Railroad would snake from Denver into the South Park.)
Colorado City was the county seat of El Paso County
until 1873, when the courthouse moved to Colorado Springs.
By an act passed on November 5, 1861, the first Colorado territorial legislature, meeting in Denver, named Colorado City as the territorial capital. However, Colorado City effectively functioned as the capital for only five days. When the second territorial legislature met at Colorado City on July 7, 1862, in a log cabin that still stands on Colorado Avenue, they found the accommodations so inadequate that they voted to adjourn on July 11 and reconvene in Denver on July 16. Colorado City was never recognized by the Federal government as the territorial capital.
In 1891, major gold strikes were made in Cripple Creek
and Victor
, on the other side of Pikes Peak from Colorado City, and suddenly supplies were needed for this last major phase of the Colorado Gold Rush and the town's big boom was on. Eventually Colorado City was processing much of the gold ore at the Golden Cycle Mill using Palmer's railroads. Colorado City was the location of a 1903 strike that spread to Cripple Creek and eventually led to the Colorado Labor Wars
.
Colorado City was incorporated into Colorado Springs in 1917.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in the city of Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
. Its approximate boundaries are U.S. Highway 24 to the south, 32nd Street to the west, 13th Street to the east and Uintah Street to the north, with the town square restructured as Bancroft Park.
Colorado City was founded on May 22, 1859, when the Colorado Town Company, a group mainly from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Auraria, laid claim to two square miles of land. They envisioned that Colorado City would be a major supply hub via Ute Pass
Ute Pass
Ute Pass is a mountain pass west of Colorado Springs, near Divide.The climate is arid, so many plants that grow here are adapted to low water usage. The pass at one time was used by stage coach and equestrian traffic. It is steep on the east side. The pass is traversed by U.S. Highway 24....
for the new gold mines in South Park and the Blue River, where major strikes in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush had recently been made. The name Colorado was chosen (the area was still part of Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
) because the Blue River mines were supposed to be on the headwaters of the Colorado River. The town prospered in late 1859 and early 1860.
However, by the summer of 1860, newly built roads from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
to South Park and the Blue River had diverted most of the traffic to and from the mines, and Colorado City commerce instead shifted towards serving the agriculture of Colorado's eastern plains. (Eventually General Palmer
William Jackson Palmer
William Jackson Palmer was an American civil engineer, soldier, industrialist, and philanthropist.-Overview:...
's Denver & Rio Grande Railroad would snake from Denver into the South Park.)
Colorado City was the county seat of El Paso County
El Paso County, Colorado
El Paso County is the most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States, now more populous than Denver County. The United States Census Bureau concluded that the county population was 622,371 in 2010. In recent years, the population had come closer to that of Denver...
until 1873, when the courthouse moved to Colorado Springs.
By an act passed on November 5, 1861, the first Colorado territorial legislature, meeting in Denver, named Colorado City as the territorial capital. However, Colorado City effectively functioned as the capital for only five days. When the second territorial legislature met at Colorado City on July 7, 1862, in a log cabin that still stands on Colorado Avenue, they found the accommodations so inadequate that they voted to adjourn on July 11 and reconvene in Denver on July 16. Colorado City was never recognized by the Federal government as the territorial capital.
In 1891, major gold strikes were made in Cripple Creek
Cripple Creek, Colorado
The City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
and Victor
Victor, Colorado
Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The population was 445 at the 2000 census.Victor is in the heart of Colorado's gold country, home to two of the major gold mines in the Cripple Creek mining district...
, on the other side of Pikes Peak from Colorado City, and suddenly supplies were needed for this last major phase of the Colorado Gold Rush and the town's big boom was on. Eventually Colorado City was processing much of the gold ore at the Golden Cycle Mill using Palmer's railroads. Colorado City was the location of a 1903 strike that spread to Cripple Creek and eventually led to the Colorado Labor Wars
Colorado Labor Wars
Colorado's most significant battles between labor and capital occurred primarily between miners and mine operators. In these battles the state government, with one clear exception, always took the side of the mine operators....
.
Colorado City was incorporated into Colorado Springs in 1917.