Denver History

A Story of Gold Between Peaks and Plains

At the intersection of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, Denver, Colorado, is a city defined by its natural beauty and its inspiring endurance in the wild heartland of our nation. It is a place where the mountains rise like granite sentries and clear cascading waters flow free, while a closer look reveals an incredible story of gold and silver, of mining and railroads, prospectors and pioneers- the American dream personified.

"Pike's Peak or Bust"

Long before settlers reached the Rocky Mountains, the Ute and Arapaho peoples hunted bison and other game in the region. In the early 1800s, fur trappers viewed the area as "wretchedly poor, forbidding and God-forsaken land unfit for cultivation and settlement". Even so, determined pioneers ventured into the area and established a trading post along the South Platte River.

In 1858, gold was discovered at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and the land would never be the same.

Word spread back to the East Coast, prompting a rush of prospectors and fortune-seekers to pack up and move west in search of riches. Pike's Peak Mountain, south of the mining camp, served as a landmark for weary travelers flooding into the area. They came from all over, carrying all their worldy goods and full of determination, hoping to carve a life out of the unforgiving mountains.

Queen City of the Plains

With the expansion of gold, silver and coal mining, this frontier boomtown grew from a single trading post into a consummate Wild West town, complete with saloons, brothels, and gambling dens. Widely promoted as the "Queen City of the Plains" by landowners hoping to attract miners to stay, Denver quickly grew into a thriving hub for immigrants, prospectors, and farmers. The town stood out as a beacon of hope and opportunity that attracted people hungry for growth and prosperity.

"It was as if the angels were carrying a city to a proper place and accidentally dropped it here."

- Rose Kingsley

Denver would not develop without a series of challenges that would have devastated a less-determined community. A raging fire burned much of the business district to the ground in 1863, and a flash flood would destroy part of the town the following year. A short time later, an Indian war broke out and supply lines were cut, leaving the struggling town of Denver with a shortage of food. It also managed to survive an avalance that nearly wiped the city away.

In the face of never-ending calamities, would Denver boom or bust?

As a gold rush city, Denver's success was a long shot from the beginning, but these hardships would solidify the community's determination to succeed, and the city's resilient spirit would unify in an effort to save the hardscrabble town from ruin. The residents donated their own money to rebuilding, avoiding becoming a ghost town like many other mining settlements in the state. A major silver strike brought prosperity once again, and the arrival of the railroad in 1870 enabled Denver to establish itself as a major industrial city in Colorado.

From a rough-and-tumble frontier town to a thriving hub for business, culture, and education in the Midwest, Denver's rich legacy is a story of western industry, entrepreneurship, and human innovation, endurance, and triumph.