07/30/2025
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO FRIDAY AUG 1 TO CELEBRATE "COLORADO DAY"?
History of Colorado Day
About 14,000 years ago, several Native American tribes, including the Ancestral Puebloans, Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Shoshone, and Ute nations, inhabited Colorado. The first European contact was by the Spanish conquistadors, one of whom â Juan de Onate â founded the Spanish province of âSanta Fe de Nuevo Mexicoâ on July 11, 1598. Eventually, Colorado became a part of this province, and the regular trade between the Spaniards and Native Americans who lived there became known as âComercio Comanchero,â meaning âComanche Trade.â
In 1803, the United States made a territorial claim to the eastern part of the Rocky Mountains, which the Spanish, who claimed sovereignty over the territory, contested. In 1846, the U.S. went to war with Mexico, winning and claiming the Southern Rocky Mountains for American settlement. However, it wasnât until a few years later that settlement began in earnest due to the âPikes Peak Gold Rush.â On June 22, 1850, a man called Lewis Ralston discovered gold in a stream flowing into Clear Creek; he immediately named the stream âRalstonâs Creek.â In 1857, gold seekers began flooding the territory to search for gold â this led to the beginning of the âPikes Peak Gold Rush.â Three years later, an estimated 100,000 people had come in search of gold, which caused a population boom. However, they settled for silver, hard rock gold, and other minerals when the gold eventually got exhausted.
On February 28, 1861, Colorado became a U.S. territory by an Act of Congress signed by President James Buchanan â this happened during the infamous secession of the Southern States that led to the American Civil War. On August 1, 1876, President Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th State, 28 days after the Centennial Celebration of the United States, earning it the moniker âCentennial State.â âColorado Dayâ was first celebrated in 1907.