Saturday, August 22, 2026

Question: Which town served as Colorado’s first territorial capital in 1861, before the legislature moved to Golden?

Answer: Colorado City, the small settlement south of Denver that’s now Old Colorado City, a neighborhood on the west side of Colorado Springs.

The territorial legislature met first in Denver in September 1861, then named Colorado City the capital that November. The town held it for exactly one session in July 1862. The accommodations were bad enough that legislators adjourned after about five days and voted to move to Golden, which kept the capital until Denver took it permanently in December 1867.