The Denver area, part of the
Territory of Kansas, was settled by Cheyenne and Arapaho
Indians and a few Anglos
until the late 1850s. However, in 1858 Green Russell and Sam Bates found a
small placer deposit that produced about 20 troy ounces (620g) of gold, and the
Pike's Peak Gold Rush was on; the population bloomed to about 100,000 gold seekers in just two years. The
same year that Russell and Bates found their gold, Denver City was established
through rather under-handed means. This rather lawless city prospered as a
mining town for a few years, but once the gold played out the population
dropped. Denver eventually became a supply hub for mining in the area,
cementing its place in history. It was named the seat of Arapahoe County, then
six years later the Territorial Capital. By 1881, Denver had become the
permanent state capital, having survived the fire of 1863 that destroyed most
of downtown, the flood a year later that devastated cattle and crops, and a
final attack by swarms of grasshoppers that stripped away the remaining
vegetation.
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| Stream with waterfall in a meadow |
