Denver City

Denver City. Lower Downtown Historic District. The area known today as Lower Downtown, is the Location of the original town of Denver. Gold seekers from Lawrence, Kansas staked the first claim in September of 1858, under the name St. Charles Town Association, but they left only one man to protect their claim. Later that same year, another group from Kansas persuaded the lone man to relinquish the claim. General William Larimer, named the town in Honor of the Kansas Territorial Governor, James William Denver, to ensure the success of this new claim. There were only 25 cabins in Denver during that first winter of 1858, and less than 50 in the neighboring town of Auraria. However, the following year of 1859 brought thousands of men who had heard the often exaggerated tales of large gold strikes in the Denver area. Between the years 1850 and 1870, over 27 million dollars in gold was taken out of the vast wilderness area surrounding Denver. Although some settlers came to start a new life in this young town, most were only interested in making a quick fortune. As a result, Denver's rapidly growing population consisted largely of disorderly vagrants. In the beginning of Denver's History, most of the town's buildings were constructed of wood. Consequently, the fire of 1863 completely destroyed large portions of the young town. To prevent the possibility of future disasters, more permanent brick buildings were erected. These buildings, as well as the ones built during the ensuing years can still be seen in the Historic Lower Downtown District.