The Fascinating History Behind Colorado's Changing Town Names

Colorado has been around the block a few times, and if you rewind far enough, a lot of these towns weren’t always called what they are now.

Back in the mining boom days, places were popping up overnight. When that happens, nobody’s exactly holding a committee meeting to lock in a name forever. They just slap something on it and figure it out later.

And yeah, later usually meant changing it.

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Some of These Towns Had Identity Issues

Take Denver. Before it became the capital, it went through a bit of a naming phase in the 1850s. St. Charles. Auraria. Highland. It basically tried on a few outfits before settling on Denver in 1858.

Colorado Springs wasn’t much different. It started as Colorado City, then tried Fountain Colony, before finally sticking with Colorado Springs in the early 1870s. Third time’s the charm, apparently.

Even Grand Junction kept it simple at first. Early settlers called it River City, which tracks when you’ve got two rivers meeting right there. Not exactly a stretch.

Before They Were Famous: The Original Names of Colorado Towns

Colorado’s towns didn’t always have the names you see on the map today. Take a look at the original names of cities across the state and the surprising identities they had before becoming the places we know now.

Why All the Name Changes?

A lot of it came down to marketing before marketing was even a thing.

Some towns renamed themselves to honor politicians or landowners who could bring money or attention. Others wanted something that sounded a little more legit to attract settlers or, more importantly, the railroad.

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And sometimes, let’s be honest, they just wanted to ditch a name that screamed “dusty mining camp” and upgrade to something that sounded like a real place.

As Colorado started to grow up a bit, most towns finally picked a name and stuck with it. But if you dig into the history, you’ll find plenty of places that went through a few personality changes before landing on the version we know today.

👇🏻 Keep Scrolling to Learn About Colorado's Original 17 Counties

These are the Original 17 Counties When Colorado Became a Territory

Before Colorado became a state, the territory was divided into 17 original counties.

For the most part, those original 17 remain counties—however, they may look a bit different—there's one that no longer exists. Guadalupe County turned into Conejos County just six days after its creation.

Please scroll through the original Colorado counties, and discover how they got their names.

Gallery Credit: Tim Gray

👇🏻 Keep Scrolling to Learn About the Expansion of Colorado Counties