Boulder's Settlement

In the fall of 1858, a group of prospectors from Nebraska made their way to what is now called Boulder Creek. After finding gold in a stream near present-day Gold Hill in the mountains west of Boulder, they made their settlement permanent, breaking a promise to Chief Niwot and his band of Southern Arapahos who lived in what is now Boulder.

On February 10, 1859, the group of 60 prospectors established the Boulder City Town Company, named for the large number of boulders they found in nearby streams.

Never mind that the settlement was in violation of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which granted the land to the Plains Indians, the town founders divided up the acres into 4,044 lots and priced them at $1,000 each. The price was much higher than in other towns like Denver, and the lots didn’t sell quickly.

News of gold discoveries near Denver and at Gold Run spread and led to the "Rush to the Rockies" in the spring of 1859. Some 100,000 prospectors, mostly men, set out for the Rocky Mountains hoping to make their fortunes.

Boulder grew slowly at first. In 1871, the fledgling city was incorporated as the Town of Boulder, with a population of just over 340 residents.