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Colorado Territory

The Territory of Colorado (1861–76) was the predecessor to the state of Colorado, created on February 28, 1861. The territory was formed in response to the secession crisis as well as a massive influx of white immigrants during the…

Pike’s Stockade

The Pike Stockade is a reconstruction of a small fortress built by the soldiers of the 1806–7 Zebulon Pike expedition. It is located on the Rio Conejos, a tributary of the Rio Grande, in the San Luis Valley, seventeen miles southeast of Alamosa…

Spanish Exploration in Southeastern Colorado, 1590–1790

The Spanish effort to conquer and control the lands that would eventually become southeastern Colorado tended to be slow and methodical. The lands claimed by New Spain extended from Panama to the Arctic, although the capital was located in Mexico City…

Spanish Exploration in Western Colorado

The Spanish colony of New Mexico was founded in 1598. Until 1821, Colorado was part of the extensive Spanish territories governed by the colony. These territories extended far to the north of the New Mexico capital in Santa Fé. In the sixteenth century…