Episode 1 of 2
Claim Staking on the Bluff
- When
- November 22, 1858
- Where
- Bluff overlooking the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek
- Part of
- Founding of Denver, Colorado
General William Larimer and Captain Jonathan Cox staked a claim on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek in November 1858.
The two land speculators from eastern Kansas Territory placed cottonwood logs to establish the townsite. This action occurred across the creek from the existing mining settlement of Auraria, setting the stage for the city's development.
Sources
- Denver Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.