Golden

Sister cities

• Veliko Tarnovo

History

Established during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, Golden City quickly became a leading economic and political center of the region. Its geographic location made it a center of trade between the gold fields to the west and settlements to the east. Golden City was established on June 16, 1859, along Clear Creek west of Denver. The city is named after Thomas L. Golden. Other important businessmen and prospectors like William A.H. Loveland and George West were among the first people to settle in Golden. By the end of 1860, Golden City had been popularly elected the seat of Jefferson County and was capital of the provisional Jefferson Territory. As drafted in the territorial constitution, the capital of the Jefferson Territory was initially proposed to be Golden, then with a population of 700, as a result of its proximity to mountain mining towns, and greater ability to hold a congressional quorum than had Denver. Golden City was temporarily removed from the status of territory capital as a result of an act passed on November 5, 1861, by the territorial government. Colorado City, a small town to the south of Denver, became the new temporary territorial capital, but saw only one short event at this location. This status was quickly revoked, however, as on August 4, 1862, the territorial government voted formally to move back to Golden. While the town lost much of its populace and leading citizenry during the Civil War for several reasons (ranging from military to economic), Golden City became capital of the federally recognized Colorado Territory on August 2, 1862, continuing as such until 1867. Between 1862 and the early 1870s a fierce railroad competition developed between Denver, to the east, and Golden. By the mid-1860s, Golden held a functionally honorific status as…

Geography

Golden lies just north of I-70 and west of Denver at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It is situated between Lookout Mountain and the two Table Mountains, within a sheltered valley fed by Clear Creek. Clear Creek flows through town from the west, out of its canyon shared by US 6, and exits the valley it carved between North Table Mountain and South Table Mountain and in which is located the Coors Brewery. At the 2020 United States census, the city had a total area of including of water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  69,776
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  60,111
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  58,148
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  48,016
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  47,376
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  43,661
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  41,737
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  41,604

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