1803: The Louisiana Territory, land west of the Mississippi River, purchased from the French.

1805:   John Purcell found gold in Tarryall Creek.

1805-1840: Mountain men and fur trappers in South Park.

1842: John C. Fremont led an expedition into South Park to map the Platte River.

1849: The California gold rush.

1858: A depressed economy following the Panic of 1857 sent gold seekers west. 

        Denver was settled and named for General James William Denver, then governor of Kansas Territory from which Colorado was carved.

1859: Colorado gold rush; major finds on Tarryall Creek in Park Co. and the Blue River in Summit Co. 

        Colorado City settled. 

        The town of Buckskin Joe in Park Co. was established.

1860-63: Height of small-claim placer mining in South Park.

1861-65: The Civil War.

1861:Feb 26:  The territory of Colorado was organized under Congressional enactment.

1864:  Nov: The Sand Creek massacre occurred. Some 300 Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians - many of them women and children - were killed by Col. J. M. Chivington's Colorado Volunteers.

1866:  June - July: Bayard Taylor's Colorado: A Summer Trip.

1867:  End of most small-claim placer mining.

1869:  Professors J. D. Whitney and William H. Brewer lead a several month surveying expedition to Colorado. They travel through Platte Canyon, South Park, and the Arkansas valley and climb and name Mt. Yale and Mt. Harvard in the Saguache (Sahwatch, Sahawaych, Sogoochi) Range. [Brewer]

1870:  June 22: The Denver Pacific railroad line from Cheyenne to Denver was completed.

1871:  Colorado silver strike. Lechner found coal in South Park near Como. The resulting mines later provided coal for the railroads in that area.

          Colorado Springs laid out by General William Palmer.

1873:  The town of Alma in Park Co. established and a smelter built there.

          The Panic of 1873 caused a national economic slowdown.

1876:  August 1: Colorado was admitted to the union.

1882:  September: The Denver, South Park and Pacific RR reached Breckenridge via Como and Boreas Pass. This became the Denver, Leadville and       Gunnison Railway in 1889 and then the Colorado and Southern Railway in 1899.

1891:  Gold found in Cripple Creek.

1893:  The repeal of the Sherman Act demonetized silver resulting in the Panic of 1893, a national business panic which lasted for about four years. The government ceased buying up to 4,500,000 ounces of silver a month, and this put most of the mining camps into a severe slump.

**************************** Some More History *************************

^{1803: The Louisiana Territory, land west of the Mississippi River, purchased from the French.}

^{1805: John Purcell found gold in Tarryall Creek.}

^{1805-1840: Mountain men and fur trappers in South Park.}

^{1842: John C. Fremont led an expedition into South Park to map the Platte River.}

^{1849: The California gold rush.}

^{1858: A depressed economy following the Panic of 1857 sent gold seekers west. Denver was settled and named for General James William Denver, then governor of Kansas Territory from which Colorado was carved.}

^{1859: Colorado gold rush; major finds on Tarryall Creek in Park Co. and the Blue River in Summit Co. Colorado City settled. The town of Buckskin Joe in Park Co. was established.}

^{1860-63: Height of small-claim placer mining in South Park.}

^{1861-65: The Civil War.}

^{1861 Feb 26: The territory of Colorado was organized under Congressional enactment.}

^{1864 Nov: The Sand Creek massacre occurred. Some 300 Cheyenne and Arapahoe ndians - many of them women and children - were killed by Col. J. M. Chivington's Colorado Volunteers.}

^{1867: End of most small-claim placer mining.}

^{1869: Professors J. D. Whitney and William H. Brewer lead a several month surveying expedition to Colorado. They travel through Platte Canyon, South Park, and the Arkansas valley and climb and name Mt. Yale and Mt. Harvard in the Saguache (Sahwatch, Sahawaych, Sogoochi) Range. [Brewer]}

^{1870 June 22: The Denver Pacific railroad line from Cheyenne to Denver was completed.}

^{1871:Colorado silver strike. Lechner found coal in South Park near Como. The resulting mines later provided coal for the railroads in that area.}

       ^{Summer: Colorado Springs laid out by General William Palmer.}

^{1873: The town of Alma in Park Co. established and a smelter built there.}

^{The Panic of 1873 caused a national economic slowdown.}

^{1876 August 1: Colorado was admitted to the union.}

^{1882, September: The Denver, South Park and Pacific RR reached Breckenridge via Como and Boreas Pass. This became the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway in 1889 and then the Colorado and Southern Railway in 1899.}

^{1891: Gold found in Cripple Creek.}

^{1893: The Sherman Act demonetized silver resulting in the Panic of 1893, a national business panic which lasted for about four years. The government ceased buying 4.5 ounces of silver a month, and this put most of the mining camps into a severe slump.}

^{1937, April 10: The last train through Breckenridge made its way over Boreas Pass. The rails were torn up during the following year. In 1952 the railroad bed on the Breckenridge side was converted into an auto road which finally reached Como in 1954.}