About Colorado | Colorado History | Colorado Attractions

The first Europeans to explore Colorado were the Spanish, when Coronado led his expedition in search of the gold paved streets of the Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540.  Coronado is likely to have passed through the southeastern portions of Colorado during this search. For the next 250 years, Spanish expeditions explored the Colorado area, but no significant settlements were established.  In 1800, Spain ceded Colorado and a large portion of the western continent to Napoleon Bonaparte and the French. Three years later, this same land  was sold by Napoleon to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1806 Lieutenant Zebulon Pike was sent to explore the recently purchased territory. One of the sites Pike listed in his report was the 14,110-foot peak, which today bears his name. Fur trappers and traders began working their trade in throughout Colorado for beaver fur, which was one of the most valuable commodities on the continent. The beaver pelt was small and light in weight, with a single pelt selling for six to eight dollars in the east. When both the supply and price of beaver skins declined, traders began to turn to hunting buffalo.

The 49er gold rush in California began a search for gold in other regions, including the Rocky Mountain. In July of 1858, William Green Russell, discovered gold at the mouth of Dry Creek in the present-day Denver suburb of Englewood. His find started the "Pike's Peak or Bust" gold rush of 1858-59. After Russell and his brothers made another gold discovery on Cherry Creek, the settlement was christened Denver City in honor of James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory. Gold and silver deposits found in other areas are responsible for most of the early towns in Colorado.

One of the biggest influences on Colorado skiing history was the 10th Mountain Division. The U.S. Army trained the 10th in the Vail area for high country combat in Europe during World War II. Many of these men, based at the massive Camp Hale, south of Vail, returned from duty in Europe to the surroundings they had come to know during their training, the Rocky Mountains. These men guided the future of skiing in Colorado. One of these courageous pioneers, Peter Seibert, was one of the founders of the Vail Resort, and a member of the Ski Hall of Fame. 

Denver won the Olympic bid in 1972 for the 1976 Winter Games.  Vail and Beaver Creek were selected as the sites to host the downhill events. However, Denver voters rejected the plan to finance the games, which upset many in the ski industry.  This was the only time in Olympic history that the games were turned down once they were awarded.