Arapahoe County was a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
that existed from August 25, 1855, until Kansas's admission into the Union on January 29, 1861.
History
On August 25, 1855, the
Kansas Territorial Legislature created Arapahoe County to govern the western portion of
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
(in what is now
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
). The county was named for the
Arapaho Nation of
Native Americans that lived in the region.
In July 1858, gold was discovered along the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sou ...
in Arapahoe County, precipitating the
Pike's Peak Gold Rush. To provide local government for the gold mining region, the Kansas Territorial Legislature split Arapahoe County into six counties on February 7, 1859: a much smaller Arapahoe County,
Broderick County,
El Paso County,
Fremont County,
Montana County, and
Oro County. None of these six counties were ever organized. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the territorial government, which was seated nearly 600 miles away, and they voted to form their own
Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859.
Following the
Republican Party election victories in 1860, the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
admitted
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
to the
Union on January 29, 1861.
The Kansas Act of Admission excluded the portion of the Kansas Territory west of the
25th meridian west from Washington from the new state, and Arapahoe County and the rest of this region reverted to unorganized territory.
On February 28, 1861,
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
was organized out of the present borders of the
State of Colorado
Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east ...
to govern this unorganized territory and adjacent areas of
New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...
,
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...
, and
Nebraska Territory.
The new
Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties on November 1, 1861, including a new
Arapahoe County.
Another Arapahoe County existed in southwestern Kansas around 1880, when its population was included in the Federal census of that year, but it was never organized. It became defunct in 1883 and its former area was established in 1887 as
Haskell County, Kansas.
See also
*
Historic Colorado counties
**Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory
**
Arrappahoe County, Jefferson Territory
**
Arapahoe County, Colorado
**
Adams County, Colorado
**
City and County of Denver, Colorado
**
South Arapahoe County, Colorado
*
History of Colorado
*
History of Kansas
The U.S. state of Kansas, located on the eastern edge of the Great Plains, was the home of nomadic Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes who hunted the vast herds of American bison, bison (often called "buffalo"). In arou ...
*
Pike's Peak Gold Rush
*
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
*
Jefferson Territory
*
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
References
External links
Colorado County Evolution by Don StanwyckKansas State Historical Society websiteColorado State Historical Society website
{{Colorado, expanded
1855 establishments in Kansas Territory
Arapahoe County, Colorado
Populated places disestablished in 1861