Colorado is About to Celebrate a Birthday

Colorado is about to celebrate a birthday.

On Aug. 1, 1876, it officially became a state.

A lot has changed since then, especially in Colorado Springs.

Much of the early statehood history of Colorado is linked to the railroads.

It was the railroad that determined where Colorado Springs is today.

Bill Thomas from the Pikes Peak Library Special Collections section said, “He stopped here and decided this would be an ideal place for a town.”

“He” was William Jackson Palmer, who founded the city in 1871.

“He was involved in just about every railroad, especially the ones going north-south,” said Thomas.

One of the most influential people not only in the history of Colorado but in Colorado Springs, Palmer has a statue in the middle of the intersection of Platte Avenue and Nevada Avenue, one of the busiest intersections in the city.

The location leaves a lot of newcomers wondering why the statue is there.

While even the experts aren’t sure why the statue is where it is, some longtime residents are passionate about keeping it where it is.

“I know people who would chain themselves to the statue if anyone tried to move it,” said Thomas.

The statue dates to 1929. Helen Baber hasn’t been here that long – she came with her husband in 1950 – but she says she’s sees a whole different city than it used to be.

“When you went to a movie, you went downtown. When you went to a store, you went downtown,” she said.

Just like the changes that have affected the entire state over the past 139 years.

When Colorado became a state, it had fewer than 200,000 people.

Today there are more than 5 million people living in the state.

To celebrate the day, Colorado State Parks are offering free admission on August 3rd.

Check out their web site spelling out the details at: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Pages/default.aspx?utm_source=CPW-Web&utm_medium=Slider1&utm_campaign=Colorado-Day