Territorial Evolution of Colorado
A Primary Source
Exhibit
Welcome to the Territorial Evolution of Colorado,
a primary-source exhibit curated by the Klos-Yavneh Family of Colorado/New
Mexico and designed for display in public libraries, educational
institutions, and civic venues.
This exhibit traces the complex legal, political, and
imperial transformations of the lands that became the State of Colorado, using
original government printings, treaties, laws, land grants, and signed
documents spanning more than two centuries.
The Territory of Colorado was formally organized by Congress
on February 28, 1861, with boundaries identical to the modern state. Its
path to statehood, however, was shaped by earlier imperial rivalries,
international treaties, westward expansion, war, and population growth.
Key milestones include:
·
Territorial Formation: 1861–1876
·
Statehood: August 1, 1876 (38th state;
“The Centennial State”)
·
Constituent Territories: Kansas,
Nebraska, New Mexico, and Utah
·
Major Population Catalyst: Pike’s Peak
Gold Rush (1858)
Imperial and International Foundations
The lands comprising present-day Colorado entered United
States sovereignty through a sequence of international agreements and
territorial realignments:
·
Louisiana Purchase (1803): Acquired lands
east of the Continental Divide
·
Adams–Onís Treaty (1821): Transferred
portions of Colorado to Spain
·
Mexican Independence (1821): Spanish
lands passed to Mexico
·
Texas Annexation (1845): Reclaimed former
Spanish-ceded lands
·
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): Ended
the Mexican–American War and secured all remaining Colorado lands for the
United States
These treaties, displayed here in original congressional and
executive printings, define the legal architecture of Colorado’s territorial
evolution.
Spanish, French, and Mexican Rule
Before U.S. sovereignty, Colorado was governed successively
by three European empires and one emerging republic:
·
France: Claimed the region as part of La
Louisiane following La Salle’s Mississippi expedition (1682)
·
Spain: Governed Colorado as part of Santa
Fé de Nuevo México (1763–1800)
·
France (briefly): Regained Louisiana
under Napoleon (1800)
·
Mexico: Controlled lands south of the
Arkansas River following independence (1821–1848)
The exhibit includes signed documents from three monarchs
who ruled Colorado lands:
·
Louis XIV of France
·
Charles IV of Spain Abdication
·
Ferdinand VII of Spain and Mexico
American Territorial Development
Gold, Railroads, and Governance
·
1858: Pike’s Peak Gold Rush brings
sustained U.S. settlement
·
1861: Colorado Territory created during
the secession crisis
·
1866-1867: Statehood bills vetoed twice
by President Andrew Johnson
·
1870: Completion of the Denver Pacific
Railroad establishes Denver as a regional hub
·
1876: President Ulysses S. Grant admits
Colorado to the Union
Johnson’s vetoes—on display here—reveal Reconstruction-era
concerns over taxation, representation, and Black suffrage requirements under
the Edmunds Amendment.
Highlights of the Exhibit
Original materials on display include:
·
1803 Louisiana Purchase – dual-language
congressional printing
·
1810 PIKE, Zebulon Montgomery - An
Account of Expeditions to the Sources of the Mississippi … interior parts of
New Spain ... with all Maps, Philadelphia: Printed by John Binns, published by
C. & A. Conrad, & Co. of Philadelphia, , 1810
·
1821 Adams–Onís Treaty - first official
U.S. edition
·
Mexican Independence Decrees (1822)
·
1823 James Monroe Land Grant, signed by
the President
·
1845 Texas Annexation Message
·
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Senate
executive printing)
·
1862 Laws of the Colorado Territory
·
1862 Colorado Quit-Claim Deed (Arapahoe
County)
·
1863 First Colorado Cavalry court-martial
death sentence
·
1865 Colorado Constitution printing
·
1867 Colorado Statehood Veto Message
Each item illustrates how law, land, and governance shaped
Colorado’s emergence from imperial frontier to U.S. state.
2018-19 Exhibition Locations:
20 N. Cascade Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
📞 (719) 531-6333
Provenance and Loans
Exhibited documents are on loan from: Eilleen E. Klos;
Louis & Jenna Klos; Nicholas & Megan Klos; Zachary A. Klos; and Raphael
Yavneh Shattenkirk (Colorado); Stanley and Naomi Yavneh Klos (New Mexico)
Why This Exhibit Matters
This exhibit demonstrates, through primary sources, not
summaries. that Colorado’s history is inseparable from global diplomacy,
imperial ambition, Reconstruction politics, and constitutional law. It is not
folklore. It is documented governance.
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