This page contains some important bits of Denver history. The information is displayed to correspond with the timeline above. Select one of the boxes above. Each corresponds to its associated decade. You can also view a short narrative history or an in-depth narrative history.

1857: Mexican Diggings on the South Platte River

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June 1858: William Green Russell party from Auraria, Georgia, discovers gold in the South Platte near Cherry Creek.

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November 22, 1858: Denver City Town Company founded by William H. Larimer party from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

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1861: Colorado Territory created.

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1870: The Denver Pacific, Kansas Pacific and Colorado Central Railroads reach Denver, ending the town’s isolation and stagnation.

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1871: First Denver streetcar line built from Auraria to Five Points.

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1876: Colorado becomes the 38th State.

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1880s: Colorado’s first great boom, propelled by mining and railroads, takes Denver’s populatiuon to 106,713 in 1890.

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1893: Silver Crash sends Denver into depression.

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1902: City and County of Denver carved out of Arapahoe County.

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1904-1918: Mayor Robert W. Speer transforms Denver into a "City Beautiful."

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1920s: Ku Klux Klan comes to power with the elections of klansmen Clarence Morely as governor of Colorado and Ben Stapleton as mayor of Denver.

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1929: Denver Municipal (Stapleton) Airport opens.

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1930s: Denver Develops its mountain parks system, including Red Rocks Outdoor Amphitheater and Winter Park Ski Area.

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1947-1955: Mayor Quigg Newton modernizes Denver, installing Dr. Florence Sabin as head of Health and Hospitals; Hank Barnes sets up one-way streets and "The Barnes Dance" (diagonal pedestrian crossings downtown).

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1976: Auraria Higher Education Center opens in Denver’s oldest neighborhood; Denver celebrates Colorado Centennial and U. S. Bicentennial by opening its Platte River Greenway at Confluence Park.

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1981: Federico Peņa becomes Denver’s first Spanish-surnamed mayor.

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1982: Oil bust sends Denver into depression.

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1991: Wellington Edward Webb becomes Denver’s first African-American mayor.

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1994: Regional Transportation District opens first light-rail line from Auraria to Five Points

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1995: Denver International Airport opens; Denver builds a grand, new public library, incorporating the original 1955 landmark building, and restores historic branch libraries.