Colorado living: Little-known political facts
Colorado’s 19 counties named after United States presidents (brown) and other political figures (green).
With it being election time again, it is interesting to explore Colorado’s political history. Here are some little-known facts:
In 1893, Colorado became the second state to extend the right to vote to women. And it was the first state to do so through popular referendum. That was more than 25 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified, legally guaranteeing American women the right to vote.
The United States Libertarian Party started in Colorado. Formed in 1971, it held its first national convention in Denver the next year. It is the third-largest political party in the nation.
Nineteen of Colorado’s 64 counties were named after national or state political figures. Of those nineteen, five counties were given the last name of a United States president: James A. Garfield, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
The Colorado counties named after other political figures are:
- Adams, in recognition of Alva Adams, three-time Colorado governor in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- Archuleta, in honor of Antonio D. Archuleta, a Conejos County senator in the 1880s.
- Chaffee, for Jerome B. Chaffee, a United States senator in the late 1870s.
- Crowley, in recognition of John H. Crowley, an Otero County senator in the early 1900s.
- Denver, City and County, in honor of General James W. Denver, territorial governor of Kansas in 1858. When founded, the city of Denver was in Kansas Territory. The consolidated City and County of Denver was formed in 1902.
- Douglas, for Stephen A. Douglas, a mid-1800s United States senator who died young in 1861, the year that Colorado’s first counties were created.
- Elbert, in recognition of Samuel H. Elbert, governor of the Colorado Territory in the early 1870s.
- Gilpin, in honor of Colonel William Gilpin, the first territorial governor of Colorado in the early 1860s.
- Hinsdale, for George A. Hinsdale, Colorado lieutenant governor in the mid-1860s.
- Larimer, in recognition of William Larimer, Jr., one of the founders of Denver.
- Pitkin, in honor of Frederick Pitkin, Colorado governor in the late 1870s and early1880s.
- Routt, for John L. Routt, the last territorial and first state governor of Colorado in the 1870s.
- Teller, in recognition of Henry M. Teller, a United States senator from the 1870s to early 1900s.
- Weld, in honor of Lewis Ledyard Weld, who was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as the first Secretary of the Colorado Territory.
For more information about women’s right to vote, visit archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment. To learn more about the Libertarian Party, visit loc.gov and search “Libertarian” or lp.org. For more information about Colorado’s counties, visit coloradovirtuallibrary.org and search “counties.”
Article and map by Susan Helton
