Larimer, a land speculator from eastern Kansas Territory, placed cottonwood
logs to stake a claim on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the South
Platte River and Cherry Creek, across the creek from the existing mining
settlement of Auraria, and on the site of the existing town site of St. Charles.
Larimer named the town site Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial
Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped that the town's name would help make it
the county seat of Arapaho County, but unknown to him Governor Denver had
already resigned from office. The location was accessible to existing trails
and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of
the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The site of these first towns is now the site of
Confluence Park in downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St.
Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners,
with the intention of creating a major city that would cater to new emigrants.
Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local
miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years,
land parcels were often traded for grub stakes or gambled away by miners in
Auraria. In May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth
& Pike's Peak Express in order to secure the region’s first overland wagon
route. Offering daily service for "passengers, mail, freight, and
gold," the Express reached Denver on a trail that trimmed westward travel
time from twelve days to six. In 1863, Western Union furthered Denver’s
dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus.
The Colorado Territory was created on
February 28, 1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1, 1861, and Denver
City was incorporated on November 7, 1861. Denver City served as the Arapahoe
County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in
