Part 1 of 4:Aug. 12 will mark the 150th birthday of what is now called Old Colorado City. The community will host a Founders Day celebration on August 8 in Bancroft Park.In the meantime, local historian Dave Hughes will outline the history of Old Colorado City each week in FRESH•INK and its sister publication, YourHub, which is included in Thursday home-delivery copies of The Gazette on the west side.

It was 1858 when Green Russell, who married a Cherokee woman in Georgia, heard through her tribe about gold having been discovered on the Platte River in 1849. He decided to make a go of it.So with two brothers and six others they set out along the Arkansas River. They eventually found traces of gold along Cherry Creek where it meets the Platte in today’s Denver. He actually found 20 ounces at one spot — worth today nearly $2,000.The 1858-59 Gold Rush was on. Tens of thousands, mostly Northerners, poured over the Platte River into and through Denver City, and thousands of others, mostly Southerners, came up the Arkansas.Now the only thing easterners had heard or read about around the “Rocky” Mountains was the famous “Pike’s Peak.” And so it became the “Pike’s Peak or Bust” gold rush, even though there would be precious little gold found within 100 miles of the peak itself.When others discovered the peak’s gold shortage, Anthony Bott stayed behind, convinced that a town could be built right at Pikes Peak. He rode to Denver and convinced investors to form the Colorado City Town Company.So the first week of August two of the organizers rode down from Denver City, and on August 12, 1859, drove the first stake at the northwest corner of a 1,240-acre town claim, two miles long astride Fountain Creek, and one mile wide across the creek. The founding corner is near Camp Creek in a Pleasant Valley subdivision off Echo Lane.So, 300 cabins were quickly raised, lots were sold, the town was promoted as a gateway to gold country, Colorado City was laid out, with “Colorado Avenue” right down the middle of the town. The historic avenue’s roadway hasn’t varied a foot in alignment since it was platted in 1859, the same month the cabin that is now in Bancroft Park was built. The core west-side lots and blocks between today’s 20th and 32nd streets are the same as well.Things started going downhill from then on. The closest gold was 80 miles away near Fairplay. The coming Civil War caused gold rush wagon-train traffic to drop off dramatically along the riskier “southern” Arkansas-Fountain Creek route. Denver City grew from the northern traffic along the Platte. Colorado City did not.By 1860 there were 18,000 northerners and 6,000 southerners in Colorado Territory (still part of Kansas Territory until 1861). Most were just seeking their fortunes and a new life, but a minority were either staunch abolitionists or secessionists, ready to fight.Nevertheless, the hustlers of Colorado City formed the El Paso Claim Club which recorded the first property deeds, hung horse thieves, ran the town, lobbied  Congress to change their proposed name from “Corona” or “Idaho” to “Colorado” Territory, then out-hustled Denver City to become the first capital in the middle of the territory. All while bracing themselves for the coming Civil War and fending off Plains Indians who linked up with Confederate guerillas two cause much discontent.Colorado City settlers had a rough life making a living and trying to make a buck. Some of their children were killed by hostile Arapaho Indians, while others played games with the friendly Utes who camped right next to Colorado City.But Colorado City survived.

In an undated photo, the cabin sat at its original site, 2608 W. Colorado Ave. Photo by Contributed by Dave Hughes

On Wednesday, Eric and Linda Krueger, of Hutchinson Island, Fla., read about the cabin’s history. Workers are repaving the area around it in preparation for next month’s Founders Day celebration, which will include the unveiling of an obelisk- Photo by Christopher Short, FRESH•INK