Commerce City

History

In 1859 after fighting in Bleeding Kansas, John D. "Colonel Jack" Henderson built a ranch, trading post, and hotel on Henderson Island in the South Platte River in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory north of Denver, from which he sold meat and provisions to gold seekers on their way up the South Platte River Trail to the gold fields during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Henderson Island was the first permanent settlement in the South Platte River Valley between Fort Saint Vrain in the Nebraska Territory and the Cherry Creek Diggings in the Kansas Territory. Henderson Island is today the site of the Adams County Regional Park and Fairgrounds. Among the first establishments in the modern Commerce City were cemeteries. Riverside Cemetery, founded in 1876, is located in the city's southwest corner at East 52nd Avenue and Brighton Boulevard. Rose Hill Cemetery, in the heart of historic Commerce City, was established in 1892 on what at the time was an open plain by the United Hebrew Cemetery Association. The first school in the area began in 1871 as a one-room schoolhouse, with other schools added in 1899 and later in 1907. This latter school is now part of the North Building at the former site of Adams City High School, now Adams 14 School District Administration Buildings. Several towns were founded in this part of Adams County in the 19th century. Derby, a Burlington Railroad station in 1887, was laid out as a town in 1889, although it was largely vacated by 1891. Irondale was first settled in 1889, named after a foundry that was opened that year. It was incorporated as the town of Irondale in 1924, but unincorporated in the 1930s due to increasing vacancy. Meanwhile, Adams City was laid out in 1903, with developers hoping the county seat would be established there; however,…

Geography

Commerce City comprises a downtown area, and northern community stretching north of Denver International Airport. At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of , including of water. |date = May 2015 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,608
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  32,077
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  31,890
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31,491
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  25,488
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,207
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  24,980
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  24,022

Largest nearby schools

• Horizon High School
  High · BRIGHTON · 2,026 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• Brighton High School
  High · BRIGHTON · 1,854 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Prairie View High School
  High · HENDERSON · 1,821 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• Adams City High School
  High · COMMERCE CITY · 1,666 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• Riverdale Ridge High School
  High · THORNTON · 1,463 students · 24.4:1 ratio
• Thornton High School
  High · THORNTON · 1,412 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Bromley East Charter School
  Elementary · BRIGHTON · 1,237 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• Rocky Top Middle School
  Middle · THORNTON · 1,001 students · 17.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3 — 2025-10-17
  11 km NNE of Black Forest, Colorado
• M 2.7 — 2025-06-13
  7 km SE of Erie, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2020-10-24
  2 km ESE of Georgetown, Colorado
• M 2.9 — 2019-03-30
  7 km NE of Greeley, Colorado
• M 3 — 2016-11-06
  8 km ENE of Greeley, Colorado
• M 2.7 — 2016-11-06
  8 km ENE of Greeley, Colorado