The city of "Denver", Colorado, owes its name to a bit of 19th-century political flattery. In 1858, land speculator William Larimer Jr. founded a settlement along the South Platte River and named it “Denver City” in hopes of currying favor with James W. Denver, then the governor of the Kansas Territory—which included present-day Colorado. Ironically, by the time Larimer named the town, James Denver had already resigned as governor. Still, the name stuck, and Denver City eventually became simply Denver when it was incorporated in 1861, the same year Colorado became a U.S. territory. James W. Denver himself was a Civil War general, lawyer, and politician. He only visited his namesake city twice and was reportedly underwhelmed by the reception he received. Denver’s founding coincided with the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, and the name helped lend the fledgling settlement a sense of legitimacy and political weight during a chaotic period of frontier expansion.
Ironically, by the time Larimer named the town, James Denver had already resigned as governor. Still, the name stuck, and Denver City eventually became simply Denver when it was incorporated in 1861, the same year Colorado became a U.S. territory.
James W. Denver himself was a Civil War general, lawyer, and politician. He only visited his namesake city twice and was reportedly underwhelmed by the reception he received.
Denver’s founding coincided with the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, and the name helped lend the fledgling settlement a sense of legitimacy and political weight during a chaotic period of frontier expansion.