Books
History Colorado publishes books on the history of Colorado and the American West. For decades, we've published biographies of notable Coloradans, anthologies of Colorado writers, cultural studies, guides to our Community Museums, and in-depth looks at communities past and present.
The following is a list of publications produced by History Colorado, including biographies, Denver histories, books on art and culture, books about mining history, books for young readers, essay collections, mini guides to community museums, as well as booklets and pamphlets. (For a list in PDF format of our available books and other publications, click here.)
To order individual copies or for wholesale purchases, click the links or contact us:
- For books marked with the asterisk symbol (*) contact publications@state.co.us or 303-866-4532
- For educational materials, call 303-866-4686
- For membership information and brochures, call 303-866-3639
- For preservation-related materials, call the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation at 303-866-3395
- For photocopies of out-of-print materials and prices of these copies, call the Stephen H. Hart Research Center 303-866-2305 or email them at cosearch@state.co.us
See our listings for biographies, Denver histories, art and culture, mining history, young readers, essay collections, mini guides to community museums, and booklets and pamphlets below.
Colorado Day by Day, by Derek R. Everett
Colorado Histories
Colorado Day by Day By Derek Everett, 2020
*Italy in Colorado: Family Histories from Denver and Beyond By Alisa DiGiacomo, reprinted 2018
On Colfax Avenue: A Victorian Childhood By Elizabeth Young, 2004
*The Real West Introduction by Patricia Nelson Limerick, 1996
*If You Stick with Barnum: A History of a Denver Neighborhood By Robert Autobee, 1992
*Voice of Empire: A Centennial Sketch of The Denver Post By William H. Hornby, 1992
Biographies
This Soldier Life: The Diaries of Romine H. Ostrander, 1863 and 1865, in Colorado Territory Edited by Paul A. Malkoski, 2007
The Life and Times of Richard Castro: Bridging a Cultural Divide By Richard Gould, 2007
*Honest John Shafroth: A Colorado Reformer By Stephen J Leonard, Thomas J. Noel, and Donald L. Walker Jr., Colorado History 8, 2003
*A Wide-Awake Woman: Josephine Roche in the Era of Reform By Elinor McGinn, 2002
Confessions of a Maverick: An Autobiography By Farrington R. Carpenter, 2000
William Henry Jackson: An Intimate Portrait Edited by Lloyd Gundy, 2000
*The Tall Chief: The Autobiography of Edward Wynkoop By Christopher Gerboth, 1994
*A Medical Gentleman: James J. Waring, M.D. By Patricia Paton, 1993
Books on Art and Culture
The Denver Artists Guild: Its Founding Members; An Illustrated History By Stan Cuba, 2015
*Orpheus in the Wilderness: A History of Music in Denver, 1860-1925 By Henry Miles, 2006
Books about Mining History
Mining Among the Clouds: The Mosquito Range and the Origins of Colorado’s Silver boom By Harvey N. Gardiner, 2002
Coal People: Life in Southern Colorado’s Company Towns, 1890-1930 By Rick J. Clyne, 1999
History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado: From Mountain Solitude to Metropolis By Don L. Griswold and Jean Harvey Griswold, 1996
*The Lessons of Leadville, or, Why the Western Federation of Miners Turned Left By William Philpott, 1994
Essay Collections
Denver Inside and Out By Jeanne Abrams et al., 2011
Western Voices: 125 Years of Colorado Writing Edited by Steve Grinstead and Ben Fogelberg, 2004
*Twentieth-Century Colorado: A Decade-by-Decade History By History Colorado, 2000
La Gente: Hispano History and Life in Colorado By Vincent C. de Baca, 1998
*Just Outside of Manila: Letters from Members of the First Colorado Regiment in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars Edited by Frank Harper, 1991
*Blazing the Tuberculosis Trail: The Religio-Ethnic Role of Four Sanatoria in Early Denver By Jeanne Abrams, 1990
Colorado History is an occasional journal series that includes volumes of essays as well as self-titled book-length monographs on the history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. We intermittently publish booklets on our exhibits, regional museums, general interest historical studies, exhibition catalogs, and directories and indexes to assist researchers and historians.
*Colorado History 15, 2008
“Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes: The Making of a National Monument” by Dietmar Schneider-Hector
“Creating Opportunities to Train the Mind: Public Schooling for Afro-Americans in Territorial Denver, 1861-73” by William M. King
“The Patriarch of Denver Merchants: Leopold Henry Guldman and the Golden Eagle Dry Goods Company, 1879-1936” by Michael A Lee
“‘For the Honor of Our College’ Naming the Collegiate Peaks of Colorado’s Sawatch Range” by Merritt R. Blakeslee
*Colorado History 12, 2006
“A Wonderful Field for the Novelist: Hamlin Garland’s Forgotten Tour of Colorado” by Virgil Mathes and Gary Scharnhorst
“’Lectric Fluid at the Tips of His Fingers: Lee J. Kelim and the Loveland Light, Heat, & Power Company” by Adam Thomas
“Monuments of Permanent Achievement: The WPA Buildings of Southeastern Colorado” by Jacqui Ainley-Conley
*Colorado History 11, 2005
“The Bull by the Horns: Dan Thornton’s Rise to the Heights of the Hereford World” by Rodney Preston, Ph.D.
“Hell With the Lid Off: A Survey of the Cooking Industry in Colorado” by Glen Weaver
“Reforming the Golden Spike: The U.S. Gold Mining industry During wOrld War II” by Matt Mayberry
“A Few Stops Along the Way: Colorado’s Early Stagecoach Stations” by Heather King Peterson
*Colorado History 10, 2004
“Their Hats in the Ring: Colorado’s Pioneer Female Politicians, 1890-1920” by Brenda Morrison
“Reckless Men of Both Races: The Trinidad War, 1867-68” by William J. Convery
“‘No Greater Menace’: The Kidnapping of Charles Boettcher II” by Lisa Lindell
“Three Bucks or Bust: The Central City Strike of 1873” by Liston Leyendecker
“On the Face of the Earth: Marking Colorado’s Boundaries, 1868-1925” by Robert B. Houston
*Colorado History 5, 2001
“I’ve Got So Thin: The Journals of an Englishman in Colorado, 1885-1886” by Robert Burchell
“Children Without Homes: The Plight of Denver’s Orphans, 1880-1930” by Jeanne Abrams
“Pebbles on the Shore: Economic Opportunity in Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood, 1920-1950” by Moya Hansen
“A Campy Divided: Annexation Battles, the Poundstone Amendment, and Their Impact on Metropolitan Denver, 1941-1988 by Franklin J. James and Christopher B Gerboth
*Colorado History, 1997
“General Sherman’s Last March” by Eugene C. Tidball
“Letters from the Rockies: John cotton Dana in Southwestern Colorado, 1880-81” by Carl A Hanson
“Anne Evans’s Christmas Pilgrimage” by Thomas J. Stelle, S.J.
“The Carbonate Camp: A Brief History and Selected Bibliography of Leadville” by James E. Fell, Jr.
“Delph E. Carpenter: Father of Interstate Water Compacts: The Evolution of an Innovative Concept” by Daniel Tyler
“Georgetown Weather Observations: A Historical Perspective” by William E. Wilson
Mini Guides to Community Museums
*The Ute Indian Museum: A Capsule History and Guide By Larry Borowsky, 2009
*Fort Vasquez Museum: A Capsule History and Guide By Dianna Litvak, 2009
*El Pueblo History Museum: A Capsule History and Guide By Dianna Litvak, 2006
*Fort Garland Museum: A Capsule History and Guide By Phil Carson, 2005
*Trinidad History Museum: A Capsule History and Guide By Steve Grinstead, 2002