Colorado's history dates back to as early as 13,000 B.C. when evidence suggests Paleo-Indians lived in the region. Around A.D. 500, the area saw the rise of the Ancestral Puebloans, known for their cliff dwellings and sophisticated agricultural systems in Mesa Verde. Drought and nomadic tribes drove the cliff dwellers from their land in the late 1200s.

By 1500, members of the Ute tribe, the state's oldest continuous inhabitants, settled in the southern Rocky Mountains.

European explorers arrived in present-day Colorado in the late 1500s. The Spanish, led by conquistador Juan de Onate, claimed the southern part of the state in 1598. French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the land east of the Rocky Mountains in the name of France in 1682.

Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the U.S. bought the Louisiana Territory from France, which included the eastern half of the state. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the two-year Mexican-American War in 1848, resulted in Mexico ceding what is now the southwestern U.S., including part of Colorado. In 1850, the American government purchased the remainder of present-day Colorado from the Republic of Texas.

Colorado became its own territory in 1861 and, on August 1, 1876, became the Union’s 38th state.

As early settlers turned westward around 1825, Colorado (“colored red” in Spanish) became home to fur trade trading posts and military bases, including Fort Bent and Fort Saint Vrain.

In 1858, gold deposits were discovered near present-day downtown Denver, sparking the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. In 1859, the area’s first newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, was founded, and settlement camps were established across the state, including Denver, Black Hawk, Central City, Cripple Creek, Boulder, Pueblo, Golden and Leadville.

News of gold in the Rockies quickly spread, drawing up to 5,000 prospectors to Colorado each week. The gold rush peaked in 1900, attracting Europeans, Chinese and African Americans to the area.

But the fever didn’t last. The gold mines were soon exhausted, and many mining camps became ghost towns by the 1870s.

However, the arrival of the Denver Pacific Railroad in 1869, Union Pacific Railroad in 1877 and Burlington Railroad in 1879 brought new immigrants, including Italians, Slavs and Greeks, drawn to the railroad and mining industries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Migration to the state also led to escalating tensions and conflicts with Native American tribes. The deadliest occurred November 29, 1864, when American soldiers and Colorado militia killed 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, including women, children and the elderly, in the peaceful Sand Creek camp in southeastern Colorado.

Another significant incident involved the Ute tribe. Tensions flared when Nathan Meeker, a federal Indian agent for the White River Agency, tried to assimilate the Utes and withheld rations as punishment for non-compliance. Meeker called in American troops for protection. When those troops trespassed on Ute land, skirmishes erupted into the six-day Battle of Milk Creek, which left Meeker and nearly 20 white men dead and more than 40 wounded. Two dozen Utes were also killed before the tribe was forced to retreat. In response, Congress passed the Ute Removal Act in 1880, and the following year, the U.S. Army forced nearly 1,500 Ute people to a reservation in Utah.

Initially driven by gold and silver mining, Colorado's economy diversified in the 20th century. Agriculture, particularly cattle ranching and farming, became important economic industries. The state is also a leader in energy and natural resources industries, including solar, wind, biofuels, natural gas, oil, coal, and metal ore and nonmetallic mineral mining.

In the mid-20th century, Colorado developed a strong aerospace industry, with companies such as Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace establishing significant operations in the state. The state's high-tech sector also grew, with the Denver-Boulder area becoming a hub for technology and innovation. It's also a homeland security and intelligence hub, with military installations and command centers, including the U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, the North American Defense Command (NORAD) in Boulder, and three Space Force locations in Colorado Springs and Aurora.

Tourism is another major economic driver, with Colorado's ski resorts, national parks and outdoor recreational activities bringing in $27.7 billion in 2022. Additionally, Colorado is home to four major professional sports teams: The NFL’s Denver Broncos, NBA’s Denver Nuggets, MLB’s Colorado Rockies and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Other professional teams in Colorado represent Major League Soccer and the National Lacrosse League.

Colorado: 2020 Census.
Colorado History Chronology.
11 things you didn’t know about Colorado’s path to statehood, History Colorado.
Notable Coloradans, Colorado State Archives.
Symbols & Emblems, Colorado State Archives.
Biggest, highest, most ... 18 interesting facts about Colorado, The Gazette.