Timeline of Boulder, Colorado

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Boulder, Colorado, United States.

19th century

1858
- October 17 - A group of gold prospectors from Fort St. Vrain 30 mi. to the east camp in Red Rocks on Boulder Creek in modern-day Settler's Park at the mouth of Boulder Canyon. This was in Arapaho territory, near the camp of Southern Arapaho chief Chief Niwot (Left Hand) (1825–64) in Valmont Butte. Chief Niwot rode to their camp to warn them to leave, but changed his mind after being given food and liquor. He welcomed the visitors, but not before uttering the Curse of the Boulder Valley: "People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty."^[1]^[2]
1859
- January 15 - gold is discovered in Gold Hill, Colorado above Left Hand Canyon in NW Boulder.
- February 10 - the Boulder City Town Company is formed, and the town laid out into 4,044 lots, offered for $1,000 each.^[3]^[4]
1861
- February 28 - the Territory of Colorado is created by the U.S. Congress, causing Boulder to no longer be part of Nebraska Territory.
- November 7 - legislation is passed making way for the state university to be located in Boulder.^[5]
1869 - Boulder County News begins publication.^[6]
1870
- Denver and Boulder Valley Railroad begins operating.
- Population: 323^[7]
1871
- November 4 - town incorporated in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie.^[3]
1873 - Railroad begins operating.
1875
- September 20 - the first cornerstone is laid for the first building (Old Main Building) on the University of Colorado campus.^[8]
- Colorado Banner newspaper begins publication.^[6]
- Boulder High School established.
1876
- August 1 - Boulder becomes part of new State of Colorado.
1877 - September 5 - The University of Colorado at Boulder officially opens.^[9]^[4]
1878 -
- The first mayor, Jacob Ellison, is elected for a two-month term.^[3]
- January - Mary Rippon, first female professor at the University of Colorado, joined the faculty.
1880 - The town passes the 3,000 population mark, making it eligible for incorporation.^[10]
1882
- April 3 - Boulder is incorporated as a 2nd class town, and later that month a new town hall is completed in time for the first meeting of the city council.^[10]
1883
- The first courthouse is built.^[10]
- The University of Colorado Medical School opens.
1885 - Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway begins operating.
1890
- Boulder Railroad Depot built.
- Boulder Camera begins publication.^[6]
- Population: 3,300.^[4]
1891 - Feeny Opera House active (approximate date).^[11]
1892
- Highland School built.
- University of Colorado Law School established.^[4]
1893 - Philharmonic Club formed.
1895 - Crockett Ricketts elected mayor.^[12]
1896 - Colorado Sanitarium in business.
1898
- Chautauqua Auditorium built.
- Colorado & Southern Railway in operation.
- Boulder Citizen's Band established, now the Boulder Concert Band
1900
- Colorado Chautauqua established.
- Population: 6,150.^[4]

20th century

1900s-1940s

1902
- Boulder Oil Field well begins operation.
- University of Colorado Museum of Natural History founded.
1906
- Curran Opera House opens.^[11]
- University of Colorado College of Commerce established.^[4]
1907
- Boulder adopts an anti-saloon ordinance.^[13]
- Carnegie Library built.^[14]
1909
- Denver, Boulder and Western Railroad begins operating.
- Hotel Boulderado opens.
1910 - Population: 9,539.^[4]
1916
- Statewide prohibition starts in Colorado,^[15] ending with the repeal of national prohibition in 1933.
- Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay start a taxi service in Boulder.
1918 - Lucile Buchanan is first black female graduate from University of Colorado Boulder.
1923 - Macky Auditorium opens.
1924 - Colorado Stadium opens.
1926 - Rialto Theatre built.
1929 - Denver Municipal Airport begins operating.
1932 - The courthouse burns down, and is rebuilt in 1934.
1937 - Balch Fieldhouse (arena) opened.
1941 - Civic Symphony Orchestra founded.
1942 - US Navy School of Oriental Languages moves from California to Boulder and begins training recruits to the US Navy and the Marine Corps in Japanese.^[16]
1944 - Boulder Historical Society established.
1947 - KBOL radio begins broadcasting.
1948
- Andrews Arboretum established.
- Conference on World Affairs begins at the University of Colorado.
1949 - Sommers–Bausch Observatory built.

1950s-1990s

1950
- Population: 19,999.^[17]
1952
- U.S. National Bureau of Standards-Atomic Energy Commission Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory in operation.^[18]
- Denver-Boulder Turnpike opens.
1953 - Colorado Daily in publication.
1954 - September: U.S. National Bureau of Standards (now known as National Institute of Standards and Technology) facility dedicated.^[19]^[20]
1955 – Denver Regional Council of Governments formed.
1956 - Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. (commonly Ball Aerospace), opens.^[21]
1958
- Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra founded.
- Colorado Shakespeare Festival begins.
1963 - Crossroads Mall in business.
1966 - Attention Homes opens its first home on 14th St.
1967 - U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Laboratory built.
1969 - Regional Transportation District (public transit system) organized.
1970
- City "comprehensive plan" created.
- Paladin Press in business.^[22]
1971
- Boulder Arts and Crafts Cooperative founded.
- Penfield Tate, Boulder's first and only black mayor, elected to Boulder City Council.
1973 - Vajradhatu headquartered in Boulder.^[23]
1974 - Naropa Institute^[23] and Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics established.
1974 - a series of bombings kill six Chicano activists (Los Seis de Boulder).
1975
- KBVL radio begins broadcasting.
- March 26 - Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued first same-sex marriage license in U.S.
1976
- Colorado Music Festival begins.
- Residential-growth management ordinance approved.
1977
- Pearl Street Mall constructed.
- KBCO begins broadcasting.
1978
- Community radio station KGNU begins broadcasting
1979
- Colorado University Events Center (arena) opens.
- Bolder Boulder 10K footrace begins.
1980 - Kinetics Conveyance Race begins.^[24]
1983 - January 1: Polar Bear Plunge begins.
1986
- Sister city relationship established with Lhasa, Tibet.^[25]
1987
- Farmer's Market opens.^[26]
- Sister city relationship activated with Dushanbe, Tajikistan.^[25]
1988 - Colorado MahlerFest begins.
1989 - Rocky Mountain Spiritual Emergence Network Times begins publication.^[27]
1990 - Radio Reading Service of the Rockies founded.
1991
- Culinary School of the Rockies founded.
- eTown (radio program) begins broadcasting.
1993
- Mountain Sun pub in business.^[28]
- Boulder Weekly begins publication.
1994
- Denver International Airport begins operating.
- Sister city relationship established with Yamagata, Japan.^[29]
- Boulder Community Network online.^[30]^[31]
1995
- September 15: First location of Illegal Pete's opens.^[32]
1996
- Boulder Area Trails Coalition founded.^[33]
- Smoking ban enacted.
- Murder of JonBenét Ramsey
1998
- October 31: Naked Pumpkin Run begins.
- Bob Greenlee becomes mayor.
- Dushanbe Tea House opens.
- Bent Lens Cinema founded.
2000
- Sister city relationship established with Ciudad Mante, Mexico.^[25]
- Moondance Film Festival begins.

21st century

2002 — Spot Bouldering Gym in business.
2004
- Mark Ruzzin becomes mayor.
- Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival begins.
- Boulder Chamber Orchestra founded.
2005 — Boulder Adventure Film Festival begins.
2006
- November: Carbon tax approved.^[34]
- Twenty Ninth Street shopping center in business.
- Bikes Belong coalition headquartered in Boulder (approximate date).[1]
2007
- Communikey Festival begins.^[35]
- October - Outdoor gear co-op REI opens prototype green store on 28th St.^[36]
2009
- Susan Osborne becomes mayor, succeeded by Matthew Appelbaum.^[37]
- Jared Polis becomes Colorado's 2nd congressional district representative.
- Sister city relationship established with Kisumu, Kenya.^[25]
2010 — Population: 97,385.
- Radio station KBCO leaves Boulder for Denver Tech Center studios^[38]
- Fourmile Canyon fire burns over 400 homes.
2011
- November: Municipal electric utility approved.^[39]
- Boulder Food Rescue active.^[40]
2012 — National Institute of Standards and Technology Precision Measurement Laboratory dedicated.^[41]
2013
- Falling Fruit (urban agriculture map) launched.^[42]
- September — record-setting major flood disruption
2014
- Galvanize opens Boulder location^[43]
2016
- October — Sen. Bernie Sanders headlines ColoradoCare healthcare-for-all ballot Amendment 69 rally at CU Farrand Field^[44]
- Nov. 10 — US36 shut down briefly as anti-Trump protesters march^[45]
2017
- October — OpenStreetMap State of the Map U.S. conference at CU Folsom Field^[46]
2018
- Ban on assault weapons, bump stocks, large magazines^[47]
- Boulder History Museum, rebranded as Museum of Boulder, opens in former Masonic Lodge on Broadway^[48]
- Radio station KGNU celebrates 40th anniversary, commemorated with Museum of Boulder exhibit
2021
- March 21 — A mass shooting occurs at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder.^[49]
2025
- June 1 — 2025 Boulder fire attack

References

^ Southern Arapahos Are Part of Boulder's Spirit
^ Frank Fossett (1876), Colorado, Denver: Daily Tribune Steam Printing House, OCLC 1886104, OL 22864473M
^ ^a ^b ^c https://bouldercolorado.gov/visitors/history
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Britannica 1910.
^ "University of Colorado History". www.Colorado.edu.
^ ^a ^b ^c "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ A. von Steinwehr (1875). "Boulder". Centennial Gazetteer of the United States. Philadelphia: McCurdy.
^ "C.U. History". BoulderGuide. June 30, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
^ Quarto-centennial celebration, University of Colorado, November 13, 14 and 15, 1902, Boulder, Colo, Boulder, Colorado: Regents of the University of Colorado, 1902, OL 24860692M
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of Boulder". bouldercolorado.gov. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Charles Ralph. "Opera in Old Colorado". Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Portrait and Biographical Record of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company. 1898.
^ "A Boulder Timeline". Boulder History Museum. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
^ American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918. pp. 7 v.
^ "Brief History of Colorado". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008.
^ Roger V. Dingman, Deciphering the Rising Sun: Navy and Marine Corps codebreakers, translators, and interpreters in the Pacific War (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2009).
^ The Colorado Daily, January 12, 2010
^ John L. Sloop (1978), "National Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory", Liquid hydrogen as a propulsion fuel, 1945-1959, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, OCLC 68918094, retrieved March 30, 2013
^ Hernandez, Paul. (March 8, 2017). "Postwar Years: Overview". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
^ "NIST Tech Beat". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. September 5, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ "Ball Aerospace & Technologies", Wikipedia, June 22, 2019, retrieved November 16, 2019
^ Erik Larson (1995). Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-307-80331-3.
^ ^a ^b Pluralism Project. "Buddhism in America". America's Many Religions: Timelines. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
^ Denver Post, January 15, 2010
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Boulder Sister City Program". City of Boulder, Colorado. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
^ http://www.bcfm.org/
^ R.M.S.E.N. Times. USA: Online Computer Library Center. OCLC 28307892 – via WorldCat.
^ "Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery". Boulder. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ https://bouldercolorado.gov/sister-cities/yamagata-japan
^ "Boulder Community Network". Archived from the original on January 1, 1997.
^ Patricia A. Langelier (1996). "Local Government Home Pages". Popular Government. 6 (3). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 38+. ISSN 0032-4515. Special Series: Local Government on the Internet
^ "History". Illegal Pete's. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
^ "BoulderRunning.com". Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ "City Approves 'Carbon Tax' in Effort to Reduce Gas Emissions". New York Times. November 18, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ "Marquee Magazine". Boulder. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ McLaren, Warren. "REI To Open New Prototype Green Store in Boulder". TreeHugger. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ "Mayor and City Council". City of Boulder. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Meltzer, Erica (January 14, 2010). "KBCO to leave Boulder for new studio in Denver Tech Center". Daily Camera. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ "Colorado: Boulder Votes to Remove Power Company". New York Times. November 2, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ "Our Bylaws". Boulder Food Rescue. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
^ "NIST Tech Beat". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. April 17, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
^ Henry Grabar (June 28, 2013). "Hungry? Here's a Map of Every Urban Plant You Can Snack On". Atlantic Cities. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
^ "Galvanize Opens in Boulder". Your Boulder. July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Daley, John. "As Sanders Rallies For Amendment 69, Colorado Is Again Feeling That Swing State Attention". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ Bear, John. "Boulder protesters rally against Donald Trump, block traffic". Daily Camera. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ "State of the Map US 2017 Dates: October 19th - 22nd | OpenStreetMap US". www.openstreetmap.us. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ "Boulder bans assault weapons, bump stocks, large magazines". Coloradoan. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ "Renovated, rebranded Museum of Boulder to host grand opening – BizWest". BizWest. May 1, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^ Frosch, Dan; Elinson, Zusha (March 23, 2021). "Boulder Shooting Leaves 10 Dead, Including Police Officer". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 23, 2021.

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

"Boulder", The Rocky Mountain Directory and Colorado Gazetteer, for 1871, Denver: Samuel S. Wallihan & Company, 1870 – via Internet Archive
"Boulder", History of Clear Creek and Boulder Valleys, Colorado, Chicago: O.L. Baskin & Co., 1880
"Boulder". Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer, Or, Geographical Dictionary of the World. Lippincott. 1880.
"Boulder". Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Arizona Gazetteer and Business Directory. Chicago: Polk & Co. and A.C. Danser. 1884 – via HathiTrust.

Published in the 20th century

"Boulder (Colorado)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 319.
Frederick Law Olmsted (1910), The improvement of Boulder, Colorado, OCLC 5149048, OL 6545366M
Francis Potter Daniels (1911), The flora of Boulder, Colorado, and vicinity, Columbia, Mo.: The University of Missouri, OL 13520773M
Federal Writers’ Project (1945). "Boulder". Colorado: a Guide to the Highest State. American Guide Series. New York: Hastings House. p. 105+.

Published in the 21st century

"Boulder, CO". U.S. City Open Data Census. Sunlight Foundation and Open Knowledge International. 2018. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018.

External links

Boulder Library. Carnegie Branch Library for Local History
- Photograph Collection
Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Boulder, Colorado, various dates

40°01′03″N 105°16′47″W / 40.017624°N 105.27966°W / 40.017624; -105.27966

[1] Southern Arapahos Are Part of Boulder's Spirit

[2] Frank Fossett (1876), Colorado, Denver: Daily Tribune Steam Printing House, OCLC 1886104, OL 22864473M

[bcg-3] ttps://bouldercolorado.gov/visitors/history

[FOOTNOTEBritannica1910-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Britannica 1910.

[5] "University of Colorado History". www.Colorado.edu.

[LOC-6] "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[7] A. von Steinwehr (1875). "Boulder". Centennial Gazetteer of the United States. Philadelphia: McCurdy.

[8] "C.U. History". BoulderGuide. June 30, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.

[9] Quarto-centennial celebration, University of Colorado, November 13, 14 and 15, 1902, Boulder, Colo, Boulder, Colorado: Regents of the University of Colorado, 1902, OL 24860692M

[bgc-10] "History of Boulder". bouldercolorado.gov. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013.

[ralph-11] Charles Ralph. "Opera in Old Colorado". Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[12] Portrait and Biographical Record of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company. 1898.

[13] "A Boulder Timeline". Boulder History Museum. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2010.

[14] American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918. pp. 7 v.

[15] "Brief History of Colorado". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008.

[16] Roger V. Dingman, Deciphering the Rising Sun: Navy and Marine Corps codebreakers, translators, and interpreters in the Pacific War (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2009).

[17] The Colorado Daily, January 12, 2010

[18] John L. Sloop (1978), "National Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory", Liquid hydrogen as a propulsion fuel, 1945-1959, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, OCLC 68918094, retrieved March 30, 2013

[19] Hernandez, Paul. (March 8, 2017). "Postwar Years: Overview". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved December 11, 2017.

[20] "NIST Tech Beat". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. September 5, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[21] "Ball Aerospace & Technologies", Wikipedia, June 22, 2019, retrieved November 16, 2019

[Larson1995-22] Erik Larson (1995). Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-307-80331-3.

[buddhism-23] Pluralism Project. "Buddhism in America". America's Many Religions: Timelines. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Retrieved October 4, 2013.

[24] Denver Post, January 15, 2010

[sister-25] "Boulder Sister City Program". City of Boulder, Colorado. Retrieved December 30, 2015.

[26] ttp://www.bcfm.org/

[worldcat-27] R.M.S.E.N. Times. USA: Online Computer Library Center. OCLC 28307892 – via WorldCat.

[28] "Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery". Boulder. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[29] ttps://bouldercolorado.gov/sister-cities/yamagata-japan

[30] "Boulder Community Network". Archived from the original on January 1, 1997.

[31] Patricia A. Langelier (1996). "Local Government Home Pages". Popular Government. 6 (3). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 38+. ISSN 0032-4515. Special Series: Local Government on the Internet

[32] "History". Illegal Pete's. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.

[33] "BoulderRunning.com". Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[34] "City Approves 'Carbon Tax' in Effort to Reduce Gas Emissions". New York Times. November 18, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[35] "Marquee Magazine". Boulder. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[36] McLaren, Warren. "REI To Open New Prototype Green Store in Boulder". TreeHugger. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[council-37] "Mayor and City Council". City of Boulder. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[38] Meltzer, Erica (January 14, 2010). "KBCO to leave Boulder for new studio in Denver Tech Center". Daily Camera. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[39] "Colorado: Boulder Votes to Remove Power Company". New York Times. November 2, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[40] "Our Bylaws". Boulder Food Rescue. Retrieved October 15, 2013.

[41] "NIST Tech Beat". U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. April 17, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

[42] Henry Grabar (June 28, 2013). "Hungry? Here's a Map of Every Urban Plant You Can Snack On". Atlantic Cities. Retrieved October 15, 2013.

[43] "Galvanize Opens in Boulder". Your Boulder. July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2019.

[44] Daley, John. "As Sanders Rallies For Amendment 69, Colorado Is Again Feeling That Swing State Attention". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[45] Bear, John. "Boulder protesters rally against Donald Trump, block traffic". Daily Camera. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[46] "State of the Map US 2017 Dates: October 19th - 22nd | OpenStreetMap US". www.openstreetmap.us. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[47] "Boulder bans assault weapons, bump stocks, large magazines". Coloradoan. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[48] "Renovated, rebranded Museum of Boulder to host grand opening – BizWest". BizWest. May 1, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[49] Frosch, Dan; Elinson, Zusha (March 23, 2021). "Boulder Shooting Leaves 10 Dead, Including Police Officer". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 23, 2021.

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v t e Municipalities and communities of Boulder County, Colorado, United States
County seat: Boulder
Cities	Boulder Lafayette Longmont‡ Louisville	Map of Colorado highlighting Boulder County
Towns	Erie‡ Jamestown Lyons Nederland Superior‡ Ward
CDPs	Allenspark Altona Bark Ranch Bonanza Mountain Estates Coal Creek‡ Crisman Eldora Eldorado Springs Glendale Gold Hill Gunbarrel Hidden Lake Lazy Acres Leyner Mountain Meadows Niwot Paragon Estates Pine Brook Hill St. Ann Highlands Seven Hills Sugarloaf Sunshine Tall Timber Valmont
Unincorporated communities	Canfield Gooding Hygiene Liggett Pinecliffe Salina Tabor Wondervu‡
Ghost town	Caribou Tungsten
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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