Colorado History 
This Web page provides links and suggested resources that can be used for doing research on Colorado History. Colorado became the 38th state on August 1, 1876, thus the nickname "Centennial State." Most of Colorado's history can be read about in books (see "identifying books" for terms to use when looking for them), but there are articles and Web sites too. You may need to contact a city or county's own historical group for more extensive information. See also Colorado Historical Resources for a growing number of additional resources.
Web | Web--Local City/County History | Executive Residence | Legislative Branch | Identifying Books | Indexes & Abstracts | Other States
Web
Colorado State Archives. Division of Information Technologies.
Official Colorado History site. Has photographs, names of territorial and state officials, chronology, etc. History FAQs, Symbols & Emblems, Colorado State Capitol (history and tour), Colorado Information & History (frequently requested sites), History links off site to general, transportation, multicultural, Native American, Sand Creek Massacre, ghost towns, local history sites, genealogy & grave sites, virtual tours, mining & industry, fur trade, and photo collections.
Photography Collection. Denver Public Library. Colorado Historical Society.
A "selection of historic photographs from the collections of the Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Department and the Colorado Historical Society. These collections, which contain more than one million items, document the history of Colorado and the American West. Our on-line database contains some 100,000 images and catalog records of American Indians, pioneers, railroads, mining, Denver and Colorado towns, city, farm, and ranch life, recreation, scenery, news events, and numerous other subjects and states."
History of the American West 1860-1920. Library of Congress. Denver Public Library. American Memory.
"Over 30,000 photographs, drawn from the holdings of the Western History and Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library, illuminate many aspects of the history of the American West. Most of the photographs were taken between 1860 and 1920. They illustrate Colorado towns and landscape, document the place of mining in the history of Colorado and the West, and show the lives of Native Americans from more than forty tribes living west of the Mississippi River. Also included are World War II photographs of the 10th Mountain Division, ski troops based in Colorado who saw action in Italy." Photos also found on Denver Public Library site (above).
Doing History, Keeping the Past. Colorado Historical Society. Hewit Institute. University of Northern Colorado.
Site aimed at kids, but has extensive information of use to everyone. Click on any photo on initial page to reach menu of site (has site map as well). Ancient Puebloans, Colorado Indians, Farmers & Ranchers, Colorado Miners, Colorado Cities, 20th Century Colorado, Virtual Field Trips, Doing History Archives (many photos arranged by theme), and Teacher Resources.
Old Colorado City Historical Society. Colorado Springs.
Clickable words/bottles (explosion sound) and dates (on signs). Assorted types of information, arranged chronologically and topically.
How the State Came to Be. Colorado History.com. Buena Vista, CO.
Gives a broad overview of Colorado from the beginning. Includes a timeline of when counties were created.
Leadville, Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado. Leadville, Colorado History.
Timeline, walking tour, mining information, photos, biographies of colorful characters, etc.
Western History/Genealogy Collection. Denver Public Library.
Manuscripts, photographs, genealogy, and more. Some very nice examples of resources online. It may be necessary to visit the Denver Public Library in person to view the collection. Make certain that the library and Western History collection are open before making a trip there. See hours and other information.
Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection . Collaborative Digitization Program. Denver, CO.
"The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (CHNC) currently includes 147 newspapers published in Colorado from 1859 to 1923." Colorado's Main Streets, found on a separate Web site (BCR), has walking tours of selected cities.
Site contains all the newspapers printed in Wyoming between 1849 and 1922. Over 900,000 newspaper pages converted from microfilm to a digital format (PDF). Neighboring state, directly north of Colorado, so items of interest--over 1000 entries mention Colorado (help wanted, reports of trips to Colorado, etc.). Exact articles not identified. Search results show a newspaper page--use the PDF search function to highlighted a word.
Colorado Counties. Lori Oling. Colorado State University.
Links to history of counties in Colorado from the counties' own Web sites.
Western Trails: An Online Journey. IMLS Digital Content Gateway.
Category of digital catalog database. Find photographs and documents about several types of trails: Native American, Explorer, Military, Settlement, Freight, Cattle, Railroad, Tourism, Health, and Population. Search the Colorado Western Trails, Denver Public Library (DPL) Western History and Geneology Photo Collection, Kansas Western Trails, University of Wyoming Trails, and Utah Trail collections at the same time or separately.
Map Resources: Historic Colorado Maps. Jeff Bullington and Louise Feldmann. Colorado State University.
Colorado Agriculture & Rural Life Searchable Bibliography. Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Material Published 1820-1945. Colorado State University.Information on how to find historical Colorado maps in CSU's collection, links to Colorado maps online, and information on where to purchase plat maps.
This bibliography lists "information about Colorado’s agricultural and rural past. The topics covered in this project are varied but include agriculture, education, water, mining, tourism, recreation, and more." The image gallery has images from Colorado's agricultural past (items from CSU Libraries' Archives & Special Collections). Search by keyword, author, title, material type, and year. A few of the items are digitized and viewable online.
Web--Local History
Colorado State University History and Buildings. Doug Ernest. Colorado State University Libraries.
Lists books and Web sites with CSU's history.
Fort Collins Public Library. Local History Archive. City of Fort Collins, CO.
"The Online Digital Archive represents a small but significant selection of historical materials,records, and photographs located in the Fort Collins Local History Archive." Collections, finding aids, books, etc. A more extensive collection is available in the local history archive at the Fort Collins Public Library. See page for hours (fewer than the hours the library building is open).
City of Fort Collins Museum. City of Fort Collins, CO.
Exhibits, programs, events, history of the building.
Flooding History. City of Fort Collins, CO.
Overview of several water disasters throughout the history of the city.
History of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway. Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society.
History of the railway from 1907 to the present.
Larimer County Courthouse History. Larimer County Justice Center.
Courthouses since 1861.
Morgan Library History and Buildings. Doug Ernest, Judea Frank. Colorado State University Libraries.
Directors, Buildings, Library Names, Collection Size, Art Work, Chronology, Sources, Overview and Photos.
The Recorded Climatic History of Fort Collins, Colorado. Nolan J. Doesken, Assistant State Climatologist, Colorado Climate Center, Dept. of
Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University.
Color contrast on page a bit iffy, but a nice chronological list of weather events in Fort Collins. PDF version is available at foot of page (recommended).
Executive Residence
Executive (Governor's) Residence.
History of the Governor's Residence at the Boettcher Mansion. See photo tour for photos.
Legislative Branch
House and senate. Contact information, services agencies, general legislative sources.
Identifying Books in SAGE, the library catalog
Items may be requested from other libraries in Prospector, the Colorado Union Catalog, by Colorado State University affiliates (establish a PIN in SAGE first). Do a Subject search for these terms in SAGE (and Prospector) to identify books about Colorado history:
|
|
Indexes and Abstracts
America, History & Life. 1954- . 1964- online via "Databases." (Only one CSU user at a time.)
Z 1236 .A48 Reference Shelves (1954-1994).
America: History & Life is a useful index to research articles and books. Search for: Colorado, Colorado (Denver), Colorado (city), Gold rushes, etc.
Academic Search Premier. Various starting dates. CSU affliates only.
Do a subject search for: Colorado History.
Colorado's Historic Newspaper Collection. 1859-1923. Collaborative Digitization Program. Colorado State Library. Colorado Historical Society. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Search Colorado newspapers from before Colorado was a state. Full text images available (of widely varying quality--from excellent to unreadable; unclear images are from sources in bad condition) for over one hundred newspapers. A growing collection. Some papers have only a few months available, others have a few years available. Click on highlighted area for larger image of that section. This is a fabulous collection of contemporary resources! For useful suggestions for searching historic newspapers (and this collection), click on the "Tips on Searching Historic Newspapers" link on the left-hand side of the initial search page.
Project MUSE. Various starting dates. CSU affliates only.
Many articles mention Colorado one way or another. Modify by a specific aspect of interest.
Other State Governors
National Governor's Association site. Gives names of governors of U.S. states and territories.
For U.S. History, see United States of America (History).
As in all research, be sure to evaluate what you find, be it an article, book, or Web page.
History Resources || How to Do Library Research
Content: Naomi Lederer