The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized in the wake of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, which brought the first large concentration of white settlement to the region and the Treaty of Fort Wise which formalized US relations with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. The organic legislative act creating the free Territory of Colorado was passed by the United States Congress and signed by 15th President James Buchanan into law on February 28, 1861. This was during the onset of the American Civil War of April 1861 to June 1865. The boundaries of the newly designated Colorado Territory were very similar with those of the modern State of Colorado. The organization of the new territory helped solidify Union control over the mineral-rich area of the western Rocky Mountains. Newly sworn in President Andrew Johnson vetod statehood in 1865. Statehood was a recurring issue during the subsequent Grant administration.
Congressional grant of territorial status for the region was delayed by the slavery issue, and a deadlock between Democrats, who controlled the Senate, and the antislavery Republicans, who gained control of the House of Representatives in 1859. The deadlock was broken by the Civil War in which enough Democratic senators from seceding states resigned from the Senate to give control of both houses to the Republicans, clearing the way for admission of new territories. The State of Kansas was created on January 29, 1861 formalizing the separation of the western portion of the now defunct Kansas Territory. Three new territories were created in as many days: Colorado (February 28), Nevada (March 1), and Dakota (March 2).
Colorado Territory was officially organized by Act of Congress on February 28, 1861 (), out of lands previously part of the Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and New Mexico territories. The name Colorado was chosen for the territory after first considering Idaho. It had been previously suggested in 1850 by Senator Henry S. Foote as a name for a state to have been created out of present-day California south of 35ð 45'.
Abraham Lincoln appointed William Gilpin of Missouri the first Governor of the Territory of Colorado and he arrived in Denver City on May 29, 1861. On June 6, 1861, Governor Steele issued a proclamation declaring the Territory of Jefferson disbanded and urging all employees and residents to abide by the laws governing the United States.
The Colorado General Assembly first met on September 9, 1861, and created 17 counties for the territory on November 1, 1861,
In 1861 following the beginning of the American Civil War, there were several small disputes and skirmishes between confederate supporters and union supporters. In August, Governor Gilpin organized the 1st Colorado Infantry. John P. Slough led the group to New Mexico Territory in FebruaryâÂÂMarch 1862. There they fought in the battles of Apache Canyon, Glorieta Pass and Peralta. Slough resigned in April 1862 and was replaced by Major John M. Chivington.
With resources tied up in the war there was little left over for mines, farms, and infrastructure, and Denver stagnated.
Following the end of the American Civil War, a movement was made for statehood; the United States Congress passed the Admission Act for the territory in late 1865, but it was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. For the next eleven years, the movement for territorial admission was stalled, with several close calls. President Grant advocated statehood for the territory in 1870, but Congress did not act.
In the meantime, the territory found itself threatened by lack of railroads. By the late 1860s, many in Denver had sold their businesses and moved northward to the Dakota Territory communities of Laramie and Cheyenne, which had sprung up along the transcontinental railroad. Faced with the possible dwindling of the town and its eclipse by the new towns to the north, Denverites pooled their capital and built the Denver Pacific Railroad northward to Cheyenne to bring the rail network to Denver. The Kansas Pacific Railway was completed to Denver two months later. The move cemented the role of Denver as the future regional metropolis. The territory was finally admitted to the Union in 1876.
Three Colorado cities served as the capital of the Territory of Colorado:
For much if not all of its existence, the Colorado Territorial government did not actually own its houses of government, instead renting available buildings for governmental purposes. Today, two buildings which served the Territorial government remain: the historic log building in Colorado City, and the Loveland Block in downtown Golden City (which had housed the complete legislature, Territorial Library and possibly Supreme Court from 1866 to 1867, with library remaining to 1868). Others which served include the original Loveland Building (1859âÂÂ1933, 1107 Washington Avenue in Golden, housing the Territorial House from 1862 to 1866); the Overland Hotel (1859âÂÂ1910, 1117 Washington Avenue in Golden, housing the Territorial Council from 1862 to 1866); and the Territorial Executive Building (unknown dates, approximately 14th and Arapahoe Streets in Golden, housing the executive branch of the government from 1866 to 1867).