Colorado Important Dates
- 1706 Juan de Ulibarri takes possession of the area for Spain.
- 1762 France cedes land west of the Mississippi River to Spain, then secretly regains it in 1800.
- 1803 The United States acquired the sections of Colorado north and east of the Arkansas River as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
- 1806 Zebulon M. Pike discovers the peak named for him while exploring the Arkansas River. Government expeditions begin to map the area, fur trappers and traders followed in the 1820's.
- 1819 Spain cedes Colorado region north of Arkansas River to the U.S.
- 1821 Western Colorado becomes part of Mexico as Mexico wins independence from Spain.
- 1836 Texas claims part of Colorado region from Mexico; This issue is a cause of the Mexican War, 1846-47.
- 1848 The United States acquired the rest of present-day Colorado from Mexico.
- 1851 Hispanic families from New Mexico founded San Luis, the oldest continually occupied town in Colorado.
- 1854 The Colorado area was divided politically among the territories of Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico.
- 1854 Ute Indians massacre settlers at Fort Pueblo.
- 1858 Denver and other mining towns were organized by Colorado's early gold seekers. In 1858 the miners also organized Arapahoe County of Kansas Territory.
- 1859 Colorado pioneers created what they called Jefferson Territory without the sanction of Congress. It was to have included all of present-day Colorado and some areas of Utah and Wyoming.
- 1861 Congress organized the Colorado Territory. The first seventeen counties were organized the same year.
- 1868 Cheyenne Indians defeated at the battle of Beecher Island.
- 1870 Railroad links between Denver and Cheyenne and between Denver and Kansas City connected Colorado with the east and west coasts.
- 1876 Colorado becomes 38th state, August 1st.
- 1879 Ute Indians attack settlers at White River Agency.
- 1881 Western Colorado was officially opened to white settlement after most of the Ute Indians had been moved to reservations in Utah.
- 1890 Colorado's population exceeded 400,000 when the last major gold strike was made at Cripple Creek.
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