06/13/2026
It took five tries over seventeen years for Colorado to become a state. This short story is about the second attempt:
Colorado Territory almost became a state in 1864. Republicans in Congress wanted to win the 1864 presidential election, and Colorado statehood would mean more Republican votes. Congress passed an act to make Colorado a state on March 21, 1864. But all was not well in Colorado Territory. Gold was getting harder to find, and without a railroad for shipping, prices for goods skyrocketed.
Statehood depended on people voting for it, but struggling mining towns and powerful Denver men had different ideas about what the state should be. Hispanos in southern Colorado felt unrepresented. Native people and women were excluded as they were not allowed to vote. The statehood vote failed.
Learn more about Colorado’s long road to statehood in our exhibition "38th Star: Colorado Becomes the Centennial State." Now on view at the History Colorado Center.
This exhibition is sponsored by Rio Grande Co., CBS Colorado, Colorado Public Radio and Westword Magazine.
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Image: Mining at Gregory Gulch, 1859. History Colorado 99.270.4207
