Did you know that since 1929, sixty Colorado highway workers have lost their lives in the line of duty? The most recent fatality, that of Nolan Olson in southwestern Colorado, occurred just this year. Olson, like many of the other fatalities, was just doing his job when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle. In […]
Lincoln Memorial. Did you know that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. are constructed of marble quarried here in Colorado? The stone comes from the Colorado Yule Marble quarry in the Crystal River valley near Marble, between Aspen and Carbondale. Colorado Yule marble, named for nearby Yule Creek, […]
Before 1972, when Memorial Day began being celebrated on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day was traditionally held on May 30. The holiday was established by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), an organization of Union veterans of the Civil War, in 1868 to commemorate and decorate the graves of deceased Union soldiers. […]
This fall the Colorado School of Mines unveiled a new memorial dedicated to the victims of the White Ash Mine disaster of 1889. Ten miners lost their lives in the accident near Golden, Colorado. The White Ash Mine was located adjacent to the Loveland Mine, which had been shut down in 1881 following a fire. […]
At the Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., each state commemorates two of their greatest citizens. The 100 statues include politicians, war heroes, explorers, artists, inventors, and other notables from all periods of U.S. history. Among them is Colorado’s contribution* — and one of only nine women in the Hall — […]
Denver’s Cheesman Park is a great place to walk, jog, picnic, sunbathe, and relax. But did you know that it was originally a cemetery? And, what’s more, there are still as many as several hundred bodies still buried there! In a nutshell, the site of Cheesman Park was once City Cemetery. This was not an […]
This week we use our digitized historical documents to travel back to 1896 and one of the state’s worst mining disasters. On the morning of February 18 of that year, an explosion at the Vulcan coal mine near New Castle, Garfield County caused the death of forty-nine miners. Among those killed were the mine’s foreman, […]
The nation’s military history was the theme of the Denver Veteran’s Day Parade this year. Colorado has an interesting and extensive military history, dating back to territorial days when Colorado volunteers played a role in the western theater of the Civil War. You can learn about Colorado’s military history through a number of insightful publications […]
Colorado’s State Capitol is filled with artworks, from murals by Allen Tupper True to stained glass windows commemorating famous Coloradans, portraits of every U.S. President, paintings, tapestries, and more. On the Capitol grounds can be found a number of statues and Civil War cannons. And in the Capitol dome you can find a history exhibit, Mr. Brown’s […]
Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre, which took place April 20, 1914. On that day, the State Militia was called in to deal with striking coal miners, who wanted recognition of their union. The Milita fired on the Colorado Fuel & Iron laborers at the Ludlow tent colony for 14 hours. It culminated with […]
99 years ago this Saturday, Colorado was the scene of one of the bloodiest and most controversial incidents in the Progressive Era labor wars. The Ludlow Massacre, April 20, 1914, occurred when Colorado National Guard troops fired on striking coal miners and their families in the Ludlow tent colony near Trinidad. The miners, employed by […]
This week, April 7-14, is Holocaust Awareness Week, which the Colorado General Assembly will be commemorating with SJR13-026. The Joint Resolution will be heard on the Senate floor this Thursday, April 11, and following Senate passage will move to the House. Holocaust Awareness Week remembers the 11 million people who died in the Holocaust, at least 6 million of […]
African-Americans made (and continue to make) an important contribution to the history of Colorado. You can read short biographies of several prominent blacks in Colorado history on the State Library’s Colorado Virtual Library website, including Justina Ford, Barney Ford, Hattie McDaniel, and James Pierson Beckwourth. You can also find video biographies of Clara Brown, Bill […]
November is Native American Heritage Month. During this month, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and other cultural heritage organizations “join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.” For more information visit www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov. The State Publications Library has numerous resources on Native American/American Indian history, life, and […]
So far, no U.S. President has hailed from Colorado, but one of the first ladies has – Mamie Eisenhower. As a result, the President who spent the most time in our state was Dwight D. Eisenhower; he even established a “Summer White House” at Lowry Air Base during his presidency. It was on this day 57 […]
Hispanic Heritage Month begins Saturday and continues through October 15. Hispanos have been an important part of Colorado history since the sixteenth century, when Spanish explorers roamed the Southwest in search of gold. Ever since, the Hispanic community has made many contributions to the history of our state. If you are researching Hispanic history in […]
Exciting news for Denver: Civic Center has been recommended by the U.S. Department of the Interior to become a National Historic Landmark! This is a prestigious honor for historic sites in the U.S. – according to the official announcement, if designated, “Civic Center would join a list of some of the most iconic, treasured and historically […]
Today, May 15, is Peace Officers Memorial Day. The law creating this observance was signed by President Kennedy in 1962. Since a1994 amendment to the law, flags are supposed to be lowered to half-staff to remember our brave officers who died in the line of duty. Here in Colorado, you can visit the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial in […]
Today is International Women’s Day, and March is Women’s History Month. The Colorado State Senate passed a Joint Resolution honoring Women’s History Month. We have a number of publications in our library that deal with Colorado women. Some resources you can find in our library include, by topic: BIOGRAPHYHelen Ring Robinson: Colorado Senator and SuffragistA Wide-Awake Woman: Josephine […]
Tomorrow, March 2, the Colorado Legislature will pass a resolution honoring Helen Ring Robinson, the first woman elected to the Colorado State Senate, who served from 1913 to 1917. Robinson was recently profiled in a new biography, available from our library, Helen Ring Robinson: Senator and Suffragette, written by another former female Colorado legislator, Pat […]
Colorado’s Liutenant Governor and the Governor’s Commission on Community Service are promoting the Martin Luther King Day of Service, to encourage Coloradans to spend their day off volunteering. Their website offers information on how you can help, including groups and causes looking for volunteers, as well as archived reports from past years’ days of service […]