NOV 19: Denver City is Platted

In this January 1866 Harper’s Weekly illustration, gold miners bring gold dust to a bank in Denver City. (Credit: Library of Congress)

This week in 1858, the town of Denver City is platted in what is now the state of Colorado. It was established by Gen. William Larimar and Capt. Jonathan Cox, who staked a claim on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Larimer named the city in an attempt to curry favor with the current governor of Kansas Territory, James W. Denver.