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 Indians
were the first inhabitants of Boulder Valley, primarily the Southern Arapahoe tribe who maintained a village near Haystack Mountain. Gold
seekers established the first non-native settlement in Boulder County on October 17, 1858 at Red Rocks near the entrance to Boulder Canyon. Four
thousand forty-four lots were laid out at a purchase price of $1,000 each, a price that was later lowered in order to attract more
residents. In 1861, when the U.S. Congress created the Territory of Colorado, Boulder City grew slowly. It developed as a supply base for miners going into the mountains in search of gold and silver. The
residents of Boulder City provided these miners with equipment, agricultural products, housing and transport services, and gambling and drinking
establishments.
Competition among new residents and businesses was intense. As a mining supply town, Boulder residents were more settled than in
the mining camps. Residents encouraged the establishment of railroad service, hospital and school buildings, and a stable town government.
Boulder's first schoolhouse was built in 1860 and a group of Boulder residents began lobbying to have a University. By 1874 Boulder had won the
designation, secured a donated 44.9 acre site and raised $15,000 to match a similar grant by the state legislature. Construction of Old Main
signaled the opening of the University, with classrooms, auditorium, office and the President's living quarters.
In 1873, railroad service came to Boulder and tracks were laid to provide service to Golden and Denver and to the mining camps to the west.
 In
1890 the railroad depot was constructed on Water Street (now Canyon Boulevard) and 14th Street. The town of Boulder was
incorporated on November 4, 1871 and the City government was formalized. The first mayor, Jacob Ellison, was elected for a two month term in
1878. By 1880 Boulder's population had passed the 3,000 mark, which was the minimum required by
state statutes for the incorporation of a city of the second class. On April 3, 1882, a new town
hall was completed in time for the first meeting of the council of the newly formed city government. Designation of Boulder as the county seat
occurred in 1867 and led to the construction of the first courthouse at its present site in 1883. It burned to the ground in 1932 and was replaced by the current
courthouse in 1934.
Amenities and health services were developed, even in periods of little growth.
The first Post Office was established in 1860 and during 1873
and 1874, the telegraph became available, a hospital was built, a water system was installed and the first bank was
built. The initial
residential area was located in what is now downtown and in some parts of Goss/Grove, Whittier and Mapleton Hill neighborhoods. The first
private school in Boulder, Mount St. Gertrude Academy, was opened in 1892. Boulder, by then accessible to visitors by railroad, was known as a
community with a prosperous economy, a comprehensive educational system, and well maintained residential neighborhoods. It was no wonder that
the railroad recommended Boulder as a site for a Chautauqua in 1897. Boulder residents passed a bond issue to buy the land, and the now familiar
Chautauqua auditorium was built.
The 1920 census showed 11,006 residents while the 1940 census count was 12,958. After the first influx of new residents in the late 1940's the
count soared to 20,000 in 1950. By 1950 Boulder leaders were actively recruiting new "clean" industry and improved transportation,
securing a new highway, the Boulder-Denver Turnpike, and the National Bureau of Standards in 1952. Other research and development industries
soon followed.
From 1950-1972 the population grew from 20,000 to 72,000. With the purchase of thousands of acres of open space beginning in 1967, the adoption
of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan in 1970, passage of the building height restriction ordinance in 1972, and the residential growth
management ordinance in 1977, Boulder began a period of infill and re-use of its past architectural development which continues to present. The
Historic Preservation Code was passed in September 1974, which is instrumental in preserving significant portions of our past while encouraging
the rehabilitation of historic buildings.
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