When gold was discovered along Cherry Creek in 1858, the future of Colorado was set into motion. The gold rush was on and hundreds of thousands of people would come to the area over the next 40 years. Gold mining towns would pop up, and vanish just as quickly. Influential people would come and go. Some found great wealth through gold or real estate, and many more lost everything in search of the precious metal. Colorado Fun Facts explores the popular tales and the unknown facts about our great state. The firsts, the unusual and the things that make us love Colorado.
In Denver’s dry climate, flooding is not high on the list of concerns for most residents. Forest fires, thunderstorms with baseball sized hail and tornadoes top the typical concerns in Colorado’s list of natural disasters. But flooding in Colorado is real, and the damaging waters date back to the founding of the city.
With the economy booming on gold and silver production, the 1893 Silver Crash dealt a big blow to the city. Denver residents, looking for alternatives to replace the struggling mining industry, looked to the plains.
Each year Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. Boxes of decorations come out of storage for another holiday season. The race is on to beat the looming snowfalls to put up outdoor decorations, a national tradition started in Denver more than 115 years ago.
Bredo Morstoel isn’t name you may recognize as a Colorado celebrity. He was a skier, fisherman and artist. Grandpa Bredo underwent a home-made version of cryogenic freezing. Today he is the frozen host of Colorado Dead Guy Days.
While Colorado isn’t known for automobile manufacturing, one of the first electric cars was built in Denver. The Denver elite drove the Fritchle 100, the first electric car that could travel 100 miles on a single charge.
When a group of six women and four men created the Artist’s Club of Denver in 1893, they had no idea their club would one day become the largest art museum in Colorado, the Denver Art Museum.
Colorado is well known for its rich history of mining. The discovery of gold along Cherry Creek in the 1860’s started the Colorado gold rush, bringing thousands of people to Denver and the Front Range. While gold was the predominant lure for prospectors, vast fortunes were made mining silver before the turn of the century.
In the late 1800’s the Colorado gold rush brought thousands of people to the area, many of them prospectors in search of their fortunes buried in the mineral rich mountains. But it wasn’t just people who came to the area to work the mines. A variety of domesticated animals were brought to provide the additional muscle needed in mining and
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