Time Line
1857: Mexican Diggings on the South Platte River June 1858: William Green Russell party from Auraria, Georgia, discovers gold in the South Platte near Cherry Creek. November 22, 1858: Denver City Town Company founded by William H. Larimer party from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory. 1861: Colorado Territory created. 1870: The Denver Pacific, Kansas Pacific and Colorado Central Railroads reach Denver, ending the town�s isolation and stagnation. 1871: First Denver streetcar line built from Auraria to Five Points. 1876: Colorado becomes the 38th State. 1880s: Colorado�s first great boom, propelled by mining and railroads, takes Denver�s populatiuon to 106,713 in 1890. 1893: Silver Crash sends Denver into depression. 1902: City and County of Denver carved out of Arapahoe County. 1904-1918: Mayor Robert W. Speer transforms Denver into a "City Beautiful." 1920s: Ku Klux Klan comes to power with the elections of klansmen Clarence Morely as governor of Colorado and Ben Stapleton as mayor of Denver. 1929: Denver Municipal (Stapleton) Airport opens. 1930s: Denver Develops its mountain parks system, including Red Rocks Outdoor Amphitheater and Winter Park Ski Area. 1947-1955: Mayor Quigg Newton modernizes Denver, installing Dr. Florence Sabin as head of Health and Hospitals; Hank Barnes sets up one-way streets and "The Barnes Dance" (diagonal pedestrian crossings downtown). 1976: Auraria Higher Education Center opens in Denver�s oldest neighborhood; Denver celebrates Colorado Centennial and U. S. Bicentennial by opening its Platte River Greenway at Confluence Park. 1981: Federico Pe�a becomes Denver�s first Spanish-surnamed mayor. 1982: Oil bust sends Denver into depression. 1991: Wellington Edward Webb becomes Denver�s first African-American mayor. 1994: Regional Transportation District opens first light-rail line from Auraria to Five Points 1995: Denver International Airport opens; Denver builds a grand, new public library, incorporating the original 1955 landmark building, and restores historic branch libraries.
