Avalanches are quite common in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. They can occur anywhere there is a sizeable amount of snow and steep slopes, meaning most of Colorado’s High Country (from 10,000 to 13,000 feet) is prone to avalanches. The massive snow slides…

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, coal mining was the most important industry in Colorado. Coal mines served as the crucibles of empire, churning out the fuel needed to power the railroads, precious-metal mines, and smelters that…

David Halliday Moffat (1839–1911) left a lasting impression on Colorado from his involvement in many industries, including banking, mining, and railroads. Through his civic involvement in Denver, Moffat helped the city develop financially and…

The “Marcia” railroad car served as the private car of David H. Moffat (1839–1911), a prominent banker and builder of railroads in Colorado in the late nineteenth century. The luxurious car represents Moffat’s interest in railroads and his effort to tie…

Construction on the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway Hill Route, also known as the Moffat Road, began in 1904 and was completed in the late 1920s. The route connected the Front Range to Middle Park via Rollins Pass. Built in part…

The Holly train depot opened in 1912, at the height of the eastern plains agricultural boom after the early twentieth-century introduction of sugar beets. For decades the depot linked farmers and consumers to the rest of the country by rail, allowing…

Construction of Interstate 80 South, later known as Interstate 76, began in 1958 and reflected the desire for easier transportation across the state of Colorado. The 184-mile highway connects Denver to western Nebraska and represents a vital link between…

Whether it was stagecoaches on the Overland Trail, steam locomotives bringing crops to market, or automobiles carrying tourists to nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, the city of Loveland has long served as a transportation hub along Colorado’s Front…

The Medicine Lodge Treaties were a series of three treaties between the US government and the Comanche, Kiowa, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho American Indian nations, signed in October 1867 along Medicine Lodge Creek, south of…

Otto Mears (1840–1931) was a Colorado businessman who played a key role in the removal of the Nuche (Ute) people and is best known for building more than 450 miles of toll roads and railroads on the Utes’ former lands in the southern and…

From the 1850s to the 1920s, gold and silver mining drove Colorado’s economy, making it into an urbanized, industrial state. The rapid development of Colorado’s mineral resources had political, social, and environmental consequences. The mining of gold…

Union Station, located in Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo) on Wynkoop Street between Eighteenth and Sixteenth Streets, is downtown Denver’s main transportation center. It opened in 1881 as the city’s first consolidated railroad depot, and a renovation…

General William Jackson Palmer (1836–1909) had a lasting impact on the environment of southern Colorado. Palmer’s initial impact on the Colorado environment resulted from his network of railroads through his Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company. This…