How Western Slope mining helped secure Colorado’s statehood — and shaped its future 150 years later
Historians say silver revenues and mining infrastructure helped Colorado meet statehood requirements and later shaped ski towns, coal communities and agriculture.
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Just after statehood in 1876, two gamblers’ deaths evoked Colorado’s Wild West history
J.B. “Wild Bill” Hickok, second from left, alongside other famous frontier figures, including William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, center. in 1874. (Courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections, Z-6084) The shooting deaths of two different gamblers made headlines in the brand-new state of Colorado in early August 1876, though only one would still be the stuff of legend 150 years later. James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok was killed in the boomtown …
How Western Slope mining helped secure Colorado’s statehood — and shaped its future 150 years later
Eighteen years before Colorado became a state, nuggets of gold discovered in what is now downtown Denver brought tens of thousands of prospectors to the region. Their exploits would result in one of the largest mining booms in U.S. history and would help propel Colorado to statehood in 1876. Now, as Colorado celebrates 150 years since its founding, historians say the state owes much of its success to the mining industry. “Colorado wouldn’t eve…
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