Denver, a city now known for being the business hub for the better part of a 500-mile radius, first opened for business only 156 years ago. To this day, people from Western Colorado make the trip to Denver to shop. Do you?

It was this day, October 29th, 1858, when the frontier town of Denver, Colorado, saw the opening of its first business. A real estate salesman from Kansas by the name of William H. Larimer, Jr. opened the store to serve miners working the placer gold deposits.

At the time of the store's opening, the town had not yet received the name of "Denver." It was almost a month later the town became incorporated and received its name.

It is believed the store was located near the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek.  That location also served as a meeting place for the Southern Arapaho and white settlers.

One and a half centuries later, many people make the trip over the mountain to Denver to shop. Unfortunately, with traffic on I-70, it's entirely possible it takes as long to get from Grand Junction to Denver now as it did back in the 1800's. A mule and a covered wagon could make it over the divide almost as fast as you can nowadays in a car.

 

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