Westminster

History

Gold discovered in the South Platte River Valley in 1858 brought national attention to the area that would become Westminster, Colorado. The promise of fortune and The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged many pioneers from the east to settle in Colorado rather than continue on to California. Before the settlements came, wildlife like antelope and buffalo made their homes in the area. There is also evidence of Arapaho Indians near the Crown Point (Gregory Hill) area. Westminsters' first permanent settler was Kentucky farmer Pleasant DeSpain, who built his home in 1870 on 160 acres (near what is now West 76th Avenue and Lowell Street). The area became known as DeSpain Junction and attracted other settlers including Edward Bruce Bowles, who in 1881 constructed a brick Italianate house now known as the Bowles House. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The village of DeSpain Junction grew into a small farming community and continued to attract new settlers despite the difficulty of farming in Colorado's arid climate. In 1890, New Yorker Henry T. Mayham convinced the Denver Presbytery to build a university on land that he owned in Harris. After delays caused by the depression of 1893, the school was built from red sandstone quarried in Colorado's Red Rocks region. The curriculum was patterned after Princeton University and was referred to as the "Princeton of the West". The school was incorporated as Westminster University of Colorado, and classes began in 1908 with one year's tuition costing $50 ($1,411 in 2018). The Harris post office was renamed Westminster on June 5, 1908, In the following decade it operated as a church and school. The former Westminster University is now on the National Register of Historic Places. In July 2006,…

Geography

Westminster is located in western Adams County and northeastern Jefferson County. It is bordered to the north by Broomfield, to the northeast by Thornton, to the east by Northglenn and Federal Heights, to the southeast by Sherrelwood, Twin Lakes and Berkley, and to the south by Arvada. At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  77,689
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  66,672
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  66,264
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  64,328
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  61,703
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  61,110
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  59,878
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  55,233

Largest nearby schools

• Ralston Valley Senior High School
  High · ARVADA · 1,843 students · 21.2:1 ratio
• Arvada West High School
  High · ARVADA · 1,840 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Standley Lake High School
  High · WESTMINSTER · 1,180 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Pomona High School
  High · ARVADA · 1,132 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• Three Creeks K-8
  Elementary · ARVADA · 1,026 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Wheat Ridge High School
  High · WHEAT RIDGE · 970 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Drake Junior High School
  Middle · ARVADA · 957 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• Lincoln Charter Academy
  Elementary · ARVADA · 809 students · 18:1 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