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Colorado

by J. Younger

About:
Colorado, known as the Centennial State, has a rich history shaped by its dramatic landscapes, resource booms, and diverse peoples. Long before European and Spanish settlement, the region was home to numerous Native American tribes for thousands of years. The Ute people are considered the oldest continuous residents, inhabiting the mountains and western areas, while the Arapaho and Cheyenne dominated the eastern plains. Other groups with historical ties include the Apache, Comanche, Shoshone, and Ancestral Puebloans (who built cliff dwellings in the southwest, such as at Mesa Verde). Treaties like the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty recognized Arapaho claims in areas like modern Denver, but gold discoveries in the late 1850s triggered rapid settler influx, leading to conflicts. A tragic low point was the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, where Colorado militia attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment, killing hundreds while the men were out hunting, mostly women and children were killed. Many tribes were eventually relocated to reservations outside Colorado or confined to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations in the southwest.

The U.S. Congress created the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861, carved from parts of the Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico territories during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush era. It initially considered names like “Idaho” but settled on Colorado (Spanish for “colored” or “red,” referring to the reddish soil and canyons). Territorial capitals shifted several times: first Colorado City in 1861-1862, then Golden from 1862 to 1867, before settling in Denver in 1867. After statehood attempts were vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, Colorado achieved statehood on August 1, 1876, exactly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence was implemented, becoming the 38th state under President Ulysses S. Grant. Denver has remained the permanent capital since then, with its current state capitol building completed later.

Colorado’s official symbols reflect its natural beauty and heritage. The state flag, designed by Andrew Carlisle Johnson and adopted in 1911 (with refinements), features three horizontal stripes of blue (sky), white (snowy mountains), and blue again, with a large red “C” (for Colorado) encircling a golden disk (sunshine and mineral wealth) using the same red, white, and blue as the U.S. flag. The state bird is the lark bunting (designated in 1931), a migratory songbird. The state flower is the Rocky Mountain columbine (1899), with white, lavender-blue petals and yellow centers symbolizing sky, snow, and gold. The state tree is the Colorado blue spruce (1939), prized for its silvery blue needles. Other symbols include the state grass (blue grama), motto “Nil Sine Numine” (Latin for “Nothing without Providence” or “Deity”), and nicknames like the Centennial State and Colorful Colorado.

The state’s development was fueled by mining (gold, silver), railroads, agriculture, and later tourism, energy, and technology. Its towering Rocky Mountains, high plains, and canyons continue to define its identity, drawing visitors to sites honoring both its Indigenous heritage and pioneers days.
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Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, also known as the Great Divide, is the principal hydrological divide separating river systems that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those flowing into the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf of America), the Arctic Ocean, and associated bodies of water.
It stretches roughly 3,100 miles through North America from Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska to the Strait of Magellan in South America, though the full continental system extends much farther. In North America, it primarily follows the crest of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. and Canada, with extensions into Mexico and beyond paralleling ranges like the Sierra Madre.

Geologically, the Rocky Mountain section (forming much of the U.S. divide) has ancient roots. Ancestral Rocky Mountains rose a VERY LONG time ago…possibly millions of years ago during the collision of ancestral Africa and North America in the late Paleozoic era. These were later eroded, with sedimentary layers deposited, before the modern Rockies uplifted due to tectonic forces (part of the Laramide orogeny). Glaciation, erosion, and weathering shaped the current dramatic ridges and peaks.

Indigenous peoples used the divide as natural boundaries and travel corridors for hunting and trade. European exploration, such as the Lewis and Clark expedition crossing at Lemhi Pass in Montana in the early 1800s, highlighted its role in westward expansion. The divide influences climate, ecology, and water resources, directing precipitation into major river systems like the Colorado River and the Missouri/Mississippi.

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT), designated by Congress in 1978 and managed primarily by the U.S. Forest Service roughly follows the divide for a whopping 3,100 miles from the Mexican border to Canada. It was initially a patchwork of existing trails and roads, with gaps filled over decades; today, it offers hiking, equestrian use, and limited other activities, traversing diverse terrain from deserts to alpine zones.

In Colorado, the Continental Divide forms a dramatic, high elevation spine through the Rocky Mountains, running roughly from the New Mexico border northward to Wyoming. It is one of the most rugged and iconic sections of the entire divide, characterized by sharp peaks, vast wilderness areas, and extreme elevations. The CDT in Colorado spans about 800 miles (depending on route choices and alternates), with an average elevation around 10,000 feet and significant stretches above timberline.

The state’s portion includes some of the trail’s most challenging and scenic terrain, often voted the toughest by thru hikers due to relentless climbs (totaling over 150,000 feet of elevation gain), afternoon monsoons with thunderstorms in July and August, high exposure, and variable snowpack. It traverses multiple mountain ranges, including the San Juans, Collegiate Peaks, Front Range, and others, passing through six National Forests and major wilderness areas like the Weminuche (Colorado’s largest).

Heading north from New Mexico, the route enters the remote and rugged South San Juan Wilderness and Weminuche Wilderness in the southern San Juans, offering isolation, glacial valleys, and views of craggy peaks like those in the Needle Mountains. It crosses landmarks such as Wolf Creek Pass (U.S. Hwy 160) and involves route choices like the scenic but demanding San Juan alignment versus the Creede Cutoff.

Further north, it overlaps with the Colorado Trail for about 200 miles, winding through the Collegiate Peaks region near Buena Vista and Leadville, with options for Collegiate East or West variants. Hikers pass near or over Fourteeners (14,000+ ft peaks), including stunning high points. The trail reaches its absolute highest elevation on the entire CDT at the summit of Grays Peak (14,270-14,278 ft), near Torreys Peak in the Front Range, where the ridge truly feels like it splits the continent.

In central and northern Colorado, it continues through areas like the Tenmile Range (near Copper Mountain and Breckenridge), Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, before descending toward lower elevations near the Wyoming border (lowest point around 8,044 ft at the Middle Fork of the Elk River). Grand County sections boast elevations over 12,000 feet with majestic vistas.

Water from the Colorado Divide is critical: about 80% of the state’s precipitation falls west of the divide, but most population and agriculture lie to the east, leading to extensive transmountain diversion projects (tunnels, reservoirs, canals) that move water eastward to support Denver, Colorado Springs, and other Front Range areas

Overall, Colorado’s segment of the Continental Divide embodies the raw beauty and hydrological power of the Great Divide, towering alpine ridges where a single raindrop’s fate is decided by which side of the crest it falls on, feeding mighty rivers on opposite sides of the continent. It remains a premier destination for backcountry adventure while underscoring the divide’s enduring role in shaping the American West.

San Luis Valley

Dand Dunes
Imagine a place where the earth itself seems to breathe vast, golden waves of sand rising like frozen tsunamis against the jagged teeth of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Welcome to the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, tucked into the remote San Luis Valley. Here stand North America’s tallest dunes, soaring nearly 750 feet (230 meters) high and sprawling across about 30 square miles…an otherworldly sea of shifting sand in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.

This surreal landscape is the result of an epic geological saga spanning hundreds of thousands of years, a masterful collaboration between titanic forces: rising mountains, ancient lakes, relentless glaciers, and clever winds. It all began millions of years ago when the Rio Grande Rift tore the continent apart, thrusting the Sangre de Cristo Mountains skyward to the east. To the west, violent volcanic eruptions built the mighty San Juan Mountains. Over time, ice ages carved these peaks mercilessly, grinding rock into billions of tiny sand grains. Rivers and creeks swept this golden cargo down into the broad valley, dumping it into massive ancient lakes, most famously Lake Alamosa, a huge inland sea that dominated the region until it began to vanish around 440,000 years ago as the climate dried.

Once the lake beds lay exposed, the real magic started. Prevailing southwesterly winds swept across the valley floor like invisible hands, scooping up the loose sand and hurling it eastward toward a natural trap at the foot of the mountains. There, in a sheltered curve, the sand piled up until fierce northeasterly storm winds, funneled through high passes like Mosca, Medano, and Music, slammed back in the opposite direction. This constant tug of war trapped the sand in place, forcing it to stack higher and higher instead of blowing away. It’s a perfect wind trap, nature’s own sand trap.Even today the dunes refuse to sit still. Creeks like Medano and Sand Creek act as tireless recyclers, stealing sand from the dune edges during high water, carrying it back across the valley, and feeding fresh grains from the mountains into the system. The result? A living, breathing dune field where the deepest layers may date back into the Pleistocene, while the surface constantly shifts and reshapes under your feet.Standing atop one of these colossal dunes at sunrise, with the mountains glowing pink behind you and nothing but rippling sand in every direction, it’s easy to feel like you’ve stepped into another planet. The Great Sand Dunes aren’t just a geological wonder…they’re a dramatic reminder of how time, pressure, water, and wind can conspire to create something utterly breathtaking.

Sand Dunes Colorado.
Photo by Jay Younger

State Flags

1907

Back in November 1910, a fine bunch of ladies from the Daughters of the American Revolution saddled up for a meetin’ just north of the Denver Country Club, right there at 317 Lafayette Street. They rolled up their sleeves and set to work designin’ a proper Colorado state flag, fixin’ to make sure our young state had itself a banner to fly proud under that big Rocky Mountain sky. But little did those fine women know, Colorado had already roped itself a flag back in 1907, one with a deep blue field and the state seal planted smack in the middle like a brand on a steer. Turns out that first official flag never saw the light of day, never got unfurled over a single courthouse or parade. It just sat forgotten, gatherin’ dust in some custodian’s closet until it finally turned up again in the late 1980s.

1910

December 1910, those determined Daughters of the American Revolution finally settled on a flag design that didn’t look a lick like the proud Colorado banner we fly today. This early draft sported two bold red stripes, one ridin’ high on top and one huggin’ the bottom, with a wide white stripe runnin’ through the middle like a snow covered pass. No big “C” in sight, just the old state seal planted right in the center.The bill moseyed its way through the legislature, but lucky for us, nobody took a shine to that design. It got bucked off quicker than a greenhorn on a wild bronc. Still, that rough first try pointed the trail in the right direction toward the clean, handsome Colorado flag we know and love today… Sometimes it takes a few wrong turns before you find the straight path through the mountains.

1911

A fella by the name of Andrew Carlisle Carson, rode up with a fine flag design that finally hit the mark. He pictured two bold horizontal stripes of deep Yale Blue with a crisp white stripe runnin’ right through the middle, and a big handsome “C” stamped near the pole with a shiny gold center, carried the design into the legislature. On April 25, 1911, the Colorado State Senate passed it with notta’ a single “nay”...smooth as a well greased wagon wheel. The House of Representatives followed suit on May 6, 1911, and just like that, Colorado had itself an official flag worthy of the Rockies.

1964

After that fine 1911 flag first started flyin’, it was about 20 years later that the legislature rode back in and passed another bill to tighten things up. They spelled out the exact shades of red and blue so they’d match proper, and moved that big gold “C” smack dab into the center where it belonged.Then, in 1964, one last flag bill came down the trail, nailin’ down the exact size of the “C” and precisely where it was to sit. And that, folks, is the proud Colorado flag we fly today…clean, bold, and true as a Rocky Mountain sunrise.

Newspapers

Daily National Intelligencer April 4, 1860

Green Mountain Freeman April 12, 1860

Nevada National April 21, 1860

The Rocky Mountain News September 27, 1924

More News Coming Soon!

Historic Sites

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is one of the most remarkable archaeological treasures in North America, preserving the cultural heritage of the Ancestral Puebloans (also known as Anasazi), who allegedly inhabited the region for over 700 years. Established in 1906 as the first U.S. national park dedicated to cultural preservation and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it protects nearly 5,000 archaeological sites, including more than 600 cliff dwellings. The name “Mesa Verde” means “green table” in Spanish, referring to the flat topped mesas covered in piñon juniper forests that rise dramatically above the surrounding canyons.

The Ancestral Puebloans allegedly first settled the Mesa Verde region around 550 A.D., initially living in pithouses. They were semi subterranean dwellings dug into the ground with timber roofs. Over centuries, they transitioned through the Pueblo periods, developing advanced agriculture (corn, beans, squash), pottery, and masonry architecture. By the late 1100s to early 1200s, many moved into protected alcoves beneath the cliffs, building multistory villages of sandstone blocks mortared with adobe. These cliff dwellings, were probably constructed between 1180 and 1300.
They represent the pinnacle of their engineering, offering defense, proximity to springs, and shelter. Communities thrived with kivas (circular underground ceremonial chambers), plazas, storage rooms, and lookout towers. Supposedly sometime around 1300, the sites were largely abandoned, likely due to a combination of prolonged drought and resource depletion, social factors. Migration patterns began southward to areas in present day Arizona and New Mexico, where their descendants include many modern Pueblo peoples.
More on this soon!

Bent's Old Fort

Bent’s Fort

Reconstructed as a living history museum, this 1830s adobe trading post on the Santa Fe Trail served as a key hub for trade among fur trappers, merchants, travelers, and Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples. It played a vital role in opening the American West before the Mexican/American War. Visitors can explore rooms, demonstrations, and exhibits on frontier life.
More on this soon!

Molly Brown House

Also known as the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown House, this restored 1880s mansion belonged to Margaret Brown, a Titanic survivor, philanthropist, and suffragist. It showcases Victorian-era architecture, furnishings, and stories of Denver’s elite during the silver boom. Tours highlight her colorful life and progressive causes.
More on this soon!

Leadville Historic District

Leadville
Leadville, Colorado, perched at over 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains, is one of the state’s most iconic historic mining towns. Leadville Historic District preserves the legacy of the late19th-century silver boom, with roughly 70square blocks of Victorian architecture, brick and masonry buildings, and a surrounding 20square mile mining district that includes dozens of historic mines.

The area’s history began in 1860 when prospector Abe Lee discovered rich placer gold in California Gulch (about a mile east of modern Leadville). This sparked a gold rush that drew thousands of miners, creating the rough settlement of Oro City. Placer gold played out by the mid1870s, but miners noticed heavy gray “lead” material in the streams, actually was rich silver bearing lead carbonates

The true silver boom ignited in late 1877 with major lode discoveries on Carbonate Hill and elsewhere. Horace (H.A.W.) Tabor, a storekeeper turned mining investor, became the “Silver King” after striking it rich with mines like the Little Pittsburgh. The town was officially named Leadville in 1878 (after the lead content in the ore) when Tabor helped establish its post office. It incorporated quickly and exploded in population, from a few thousand to an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 by 1880, making it Colorado’s 2nd largest city after Denver at the time.

At its height, Leadville was known as the “Greatest Mining Camp in the World.” It produced vast wealth (over $82 million in silver during the boom era), attracted figures like the Guggenheims, and featured opulent buildings, opera houses, and a lively (often rowdy) nightlife. The Tabor Opera House (built in 1879) and grand hotels symbolized its ambition. There was even talk of moving Colorado’s state capital there.

The boom collapsed in 1893 when the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act caused silver prices to plummet. Many mines closed, fortunes evaporated (including Tabor’s), and the population declined sharply. Leadville later saw revivals through molybdenum mining (notably the Climax Mine) in the 20th century, but it never regained its silver era scale.

The Leadville Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 (and listed on the National Register in 1966). It features preserved Victorian buildings along Harrison Avenue, including the Delaware Hotel, Tabor Opera House, and numerous commercial structures with original tin ceilings and facades. The district also encompasses key mines and interpretive sites.

Today, visitors can explore the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, take self guided walking or driving tours of the mining district (with interpretive signs along the Mineral Belt Trail), and experience events like Boom Days. The town’s high elevation and rugged setting add to its authentic frontier character. Leadville stands as a testament to Colorado’s mining heritage; boom, and bust.

The Oxford Hotel

The Oxford Hotel in Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver opened in 1891 as one of Denver’s earliest luxury hotels, it sits at 1600 17th Street, right near Union Station. It features a notable basement level men’s restroom accessed by stairs, known for its vintage, oversized marble urinals (often described as comically tall or “giant,” dating to the early 20th century).

Denver has a network of historic underground tunnels (mostly from the late 1800s/early 1900s) used for coal delivery, goods transport, and discreet movement between buildings to avoid street traffic or weather. Rumors and local lore frequently link the Oxford Hotel to these tunnels, particularly one rumored to connect toward Union Station (though many passages are now sealed, bricked up, or inaccessible). The basement area, including around the restrooms, ties into these stories and the hotel’s haunted reputation.
The Oxford is considered one of Denver’s most haunted hotels, with reports of activity in the basement (including the restroom area), such as phantom sounds, apparitions, and quirky incidents like self locking stalls or running sinks. Its proximity to old rail infrastructure and LoDo’s mining era history adds to the underground mystique.

The Brown Palace

The Brown Palace Hotel, tucked into downtown Denver at 321 17th Street, stands as one of Colorado’s most legendary landmarks and the city’s 2nd longest continuously operating hotel. It first welcomed guests on August 12, 1892, in the glittering heart of the Gilded Age.
Henry Cordes Brown, a carpenter turned savvy real estate developer arrived from Ohio in 1860, financed and named the hotel. He had once grazed cattle on the very triangular plot where it now rises and had donated the adjacent land for the Colorado State Capitol. Architect Frank Edbrooke, who also designed the nearby Oxford Hotel, gave the building its striking triangular shape to perfectly fit the oddly angled intersection of Broadway, 17th Street, and Tremont Place.
At a cost of roughly $1.6 to 2 million (tens of millions in today’s dollars), the 8 story structure was Denver’s tallest building when it opened. It boasted innovative fireproof iron and steel framing, a sandstone and red granite exterior, and one of the first grand atrium style lobbies in America. From the moment it opened with 400 guest rooms priced at $3 to 5 per night, elegant public spaces, shops, and banquet halls, the Brown Palace became the most luxurious hotel between Chicago and the West Coast…a real dazzling social hub for Denver’s elite.
Presidents have stayed here since Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, with nearly every U.S. president since (save a few). Among its notable guests: “Unsinkable” Molly Brown shortly after surviving the Titanic, The Beatles, Queen Marie of Romania, and Dr. Sun Yatsen. The Boettcher family owned the hotel for much of the 20th century and added the 22 story Brown Palace West annex in 1959. Through continuous renovations, including a modern spa, the hotel has never closed its doors.
Today, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970 and part of the Autograph Collection, the Brown Palace still enchants visitors with its soaring atrium lobby and beloved afternoon tea tradition. It perfectly embodies Denver’s evolution from rough mining camp to sophisticated Western city.
Yet its most tantalizing secret lies beneath the streets. When the hotel opened in 1892, builders constructed a tunnel linking it to the Navarre Building across the street (now home to the Anschutz Collection / Museum of the American Cowboy, once a school, then a notorious gambling hall and high end brothel). Officially, the tunnel shared coal for heating and featured small mining cart tracks for efficient supply movement. But local lore whispers of a far more scandalous purpose: discreet passages for wealthy male guests. Espessially politicians and high society figures, to slip between the respectable Brown Palace and the Navarre’s gambling and prostitution services without ever stepping onto the street. Stories tell of intoxicated patrons being wheeled back in carts.
Sealed now for decades with masonry to support the street above, the tunnel remains inaccessible to the public. On the Navarre side, however, visitors can still see marked basement entrances and subterranean tracks disappearing into a brick wall…silent reminders of one of Denver’s earliest and most intriguing underground passages. These legends of hidden tunnels and hauntings only deepen the Brown Palace’s enduring mystique.