Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BOULDER
POP 98,900
History
The Boulder foothills were a wintering spot for nomadic Arapahoe Nation in the early 19th
century. Utes, Cheyennes, Comanches and Sioux were also documented in the Boulder val-
ley before Europeans arrived. Later in the 19th century, American explorers Zebulon Pike
and John Fremont were commissioned to explore the area. One of Fremont's men, William
Gilpin, became the first governor of the Colorado Territory. His speculation on gold depos-
its in Boulder inspired Depression-saddled easterners to set out for Colorado.
The first European settlement in Boulder County was established at Red Rocks, on Octo-
ber 17, 1858. One of those early settlers, AA Brookfield, organized the Boulder City Town
Company. In February 1859, he divided and sold land on either side of Boulder Creek, giv-
ing birth to the present-day city.
Boulder has always had strong educational roots. Colorado's first schoolhouse was erec-
ted at the southwest corner of Walnut and 15th St in 1860. In 1872 six of Boulder's most
prominent citizens donated 44.9 acres of land in an area known as 'The Hill' for the estab-
lishment of a university. Two years later the first building, Old Main, was built with a com-
bination of public and private dollars, and it is still standing. The University of Colorado
opened its doors in September of 1877, to 44 students, one professor and a president.
In 1898, Texas educators and local leaders conspired to bring a summer-long educational
and cultural festival to Boulder. Part of the famed Chautauqua Movement, it drew orators,
performers and educators, who traveled a national Chautauqua circuit of more than 12,000
sites bringing lectures, performances, classes and exhibitions to small towns and cities.
Theodore Roosevelt called it, 'the most American thing in America.' Boulder's
Chautauqua was completed July 4, 1898, and it had an incredible impact, not least of which
was launching Boulder's parks and open-space preservation. The day after the grand open-
ing, the city of Boulder purchased the eastern slope of Flagstaff Mountain from the United
States Government.
Purchasing land for preservation became and remains one of Boulder's top priorities. It
now has over 54,000 acres dedicated to parks and open space today.
