Image of the front cover a book titled "Arapahoe Basin: A Colorado Legend Since 1946." The authors, whose names appear at the bottom in small font, are Cathleen Norman and Alan J. Henceroth. The cover is a photograph of two skiers traversing a snow-covered hillside while looking at the snowy mountain in the distance. The sky is a brilliant blue, with no clouds in sight.

Arapahoe Basin: A Colorado Legend Since 1946

A review of Cathleen Norman and Alan J. Henceroth's 2020 book, Arapahoe Basin: A Colorado Legend Since 1946.

Photo looking down upon a long dining table made of dark brown wood and decorated with a long table runner down the center consisting of wide green and red stripes divided by a thin black stripe of fabric. Three people in colorful attire sit around the table, passing dishes of food and serving some onto plates. Dishes of greens, cornbread, green beans, sliced bread, and other foods are being shared.

Habari Gani? (Or, What’s the News?)

Celebrating family, community, and culture, Kwanzaa embraces seven days of reflection and guiding principles.

Image of a picture postcard of Downtown Denver around 1950-1960. The photograph has been taken from an intersection along Sixteenth Street. Signs on buildings read "Paramount (Theatre)" "Denver" "Skagg's" and "Swift's Ice Cream," among others. Cars are travelling in one direction along Sixteenth, toward the D&F Tower in the distance.

Marveling at the Mile High City

November 22, 2022 marks the 164th birthday of our beloved Mile High City. To honor the occasion, Jori Johnson and Cody Robinson, part of History Colorado’s research team in the Stephen H. Hart Research Center, uncovered some marvelous images of the Mile High City that you just may have missed.

Photo of a Doughboy helmet from World War One. It is a round metal helmet painted with green, brown and black camouflage pattern on the outer surface. A heraldic eagle painted on a yellow background is hand painted on the forehead.

The Eleventh Hour

On November 11 we celebrate Veterans Day, an annual recognition of our men and women who have served in uniform. Some will remember that this celebration used to have a different name—and purpose.

Photo of a large lightening bolt coming out of the cloud in the middle of the sky, and several fingers of lightening contact the ground. There are two very tall power line poles in the foreground. The bright lightening illuminates the darkness in this very dark photograph.

We’ve Seen Stranger Things in Our Collections

If your social media feeds and company water coolers are anything like ours, Season 4 of “Stranger Things” has been all the talk this summer. And if you are arriving a little late to the party, never fear no problem! We’ve got the CliffsNotes for you.

Photo of a long, one-story building that is part of the Fort Lewis Indian School. Students from the school are lined up in rows along the building front in this historic photo. Handwriting at the bottom of the photo says "Fort Lewis Indian School No. 3 F. Gonner Photo."

“A Lasting Disgrace”

In 1903, The Denver Post investigative journalist Polly Pry exposed abuses at the Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School that shocked the nation. Her reporting brought to light the mistreatment of Native children that was all too common at boarding schools throughout the nation.

Photo of a group of women standing at the edge of a hill overlooking the mountains and valleys. Two of the women are holding the hand of a small Black boy, one on either side of him. He, too, is looking at the scenery. The women in this historic photo are all wearing dresses and most of them wear wide-brimmed hats. The young boy is wearing white shorts and a dark-colored shirt with a white collar.

In the Land of Sky Blue Weather

A forgotten photo album reveals a window into the experiences of women enjoying independence and female friendship amid Colorado’s spectacular Rocky Mountain landscapes in the early twentieth century.

 

Photo of the town of Gothic, Colorado, dating from the 1880s. Buildings stand at the foot of a rocky mountain which has been dusted with snow. Most of the buildings are small one-story cabins, and one building in the center of the photo is a large white two-story building.

A Lynching in Gothic, Colorado?

After coming across a newspaper notice of the lynching of a Chinese man in a long-forgotten mining camp, the author undertakes a deeply personal journey into Colorado history as he contemplates who really “belongs” in our narratives about the past—and our present.

Photo of a young woman, posing for a portrait. She wears a light colored blouse with small ruffles around the neckline, and a pendant necklace. She is fair-skinned with dark hair that is pulled up into a bun at the top of her head. She has a faint smile on her face.

Agnes Wright Spring

During my years in public life I always worked harder than my staff and tried to justify the confidence placed in me by the nine governors whom I served, regardless of politics. I thoroughly enjoyed my work for more than half a century in a Man’s World—or since I worked in Wyoming and Colorado perhaps I should say—in a Women’s World, too!

—Agnes Wright Spring

Image of the state of Colorado with the districts outlined & named as they were in 2013. There are 7 districts: 1) the city of Denver, 2) a sizeable area to the north & west of Denver, 3) nearly half of the state to the west, extending along half of the southern border, 4) the eastern half of the state, 5) an odd-shaped area in the middle of the state, 6) a very asymmetrical area circling the eastern half of Denver, and 7) an uneven area north & east of Denver.

Redistricting Colorado

As Colorado’s experiment in nonpartisan, citizen-led redistricting enters the home stretch, we look back at our long history of attempting to craft a truly representative government. It’s been more complicated than you might think.