North City Park Civic Association

Denver History Trivia

May 23, 2003

Why Here And Why That Name?
In the summer of 1858 a party lead by William Russell discovered gold on the South Platte River near the confluence with Cherry Creek. Their camp on the south side of the Creek was named Auraria, after the party?’s home town in Georgia. A few months later William Larimer of Leavenworth Kansas struck camp on the north side of the Cherry Creek and declared it ?“The Denver City Town Co.?” He named it after the governor of Kansas, James Denver, (must have been a poker buddy).
Grand Old Flag?
The Colorado State flag was designed by a North High School student in 1926. The top blue symbolizes the color our sky used to be. The sun is gold mined from the Rockies, and the mountains are red, like the red earth from which this state was named ?“Colorado?”!