History of Colorado Springs, CO
This city has an average population of 416,427 according to the 2010 census. This is the second most popular city in the state of Colorado. Denver comes in first. It's known as the 41st most popular city in the country. Colorado Springs Metropolitan area had a population in 2010 of 645,613 people. This is Colorado's largest city as far as area and it covers 186.1 sq. miles. This city was voted as being the Number 1 Best Big City in 2006 by Money magazine and was also number 1 in 2009 in Outside magazine. City Founder William Jackson Palmer came to Colorado and was a survivor of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He discovered areas south of Denver and was in search of railroad routes that the Kansas Pacific could use. He viewed Pikes Peak as ideal land and for a town. He was not able to get the Kansas Pacific to go to Pueblo and therefore he secured legislation in order to fund and build the Rio and Denver Railroad. It reached all the way to Mexico City and he discovered Colorado Springs on July 31 of 1871. This became the initial destination and he also had intentions of developing a resort community as well. He named the town Little London simply for the English visitors and tourists who came which were connected to England which is who funded his railroad. This location became a natural destination because you could see the Garden of Gods, and the valley could be seen anywhere regardless of where you were. Old Colorado City and Pikes Peak Colorado Springs has a downtown area which is where Palmer found the city. He disliked the nearby city that used to be called Colorado City and it is now called Old Colorado City. He ensured there was no alcohol in his city and he purchased a tract of land that was located to the east of Colorado City. Colorado Springs was completely dry until 1933 however alcohol could be purchased and it was available. From 1859-1860, this city became a hub for transporting and sending things to South Park. This is where the Pikes Peak Gold Rush was discovered. After Cripple Creek's discovery of gold, mills that were located in Colorado City helped process a majority of gold using the railroads. The affluent, which ended up making money, left Colorado City and decided to build larger homes in downtown Colorado Springs. Latter 20th Century Boom In 1942 there was a military base in Colorado Springs and this was soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. There were many years that this city tried getting military installations. In the year 1941, this city bought about 250,000 acres of land and this is now Fort Carson. After World War II military personnel backed off of the springs, and Camp Carson got declined. The Korean War erupted it and Camp Carson became revitalized along with other aspects. In 1951 the US Air Defense had moved to Colorado Springs. Once the Korean War ended Peterson Field became renamed to Peterson Air Force base. Camp Carson then became named Fort Carson which was the first Army base in Colorado Springs.
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