10 Strange Facts About Colorado

So you’ve decided to retire to Colorado. Was it the soaring Rocky Mountains that drew you here, or the rolling high plains and ranches? Seriously, though, there are many reasons seniors head over to the Centennial State. Taxes are low, the cities are clean and safe, the air is fresh and unpolluted, and the outdoor activities are plentiful. If you love to fish, hike, hunt, and bike, Colorado is the place to live out your retirement. But did you also know...

What's In A Name?

  • Colorado acquired the nickname “The Centennial State” by being admitted to the Union in 1876, the year of the U.S. centennial.

Just Say No

  • Colorado once had the opportunity to host the Olympic Games – but they decided they didn’t want it. It came as a shock to many when in 1976, 62%of state voters decided at the last minute not to host the games, not wanting to deal with the pollution, cost, and influx of people.

Horse of a Different Color

  • Denver’s one-of-a-kind capital building is red. Made from Beulah red marble, it took six years between 1894 and 1900 to cut and polish the marble and to construct the building.

Who's Who

  • Colorado has changed hands a few times over the years. It was originally part of the Spanish territory beginning in the 1500s when missionaries arrived in the west. Next, it belonged to the Republic of Mexico and then to the short-lived Republic of Texas. As part of the United States, it was first the Territory of Colorado and finally became a state in 1876.

Dig, Dig Dig!

  • One of the United States’ most important archaeological sites is in Colorado. Discovered by amateurs in 1924 just south of the Wyoming border, the Lindenmeier Site holds tools and other artifacts that dated back 11,000 years.

Not Just the South

  • Colorado has been home to its fair share of unsavory characters, especially during the days of the Wild West. But, not many realize that the Ku Klux Klan had a strong foothold here in the early 1900s. Most people think of them as a southern phenomenon, but in 1924, the governor and a senator were Klansmen, as were many of the members of the state assembly.

Sex Change Capital of the World

  • The town of Trinidad in southern Colorado can rightfully be called the “sex change capital of the world”. Around 65% of the world’s sex change operations have been performed here by the prolific Dr. Stanley Biber. At the time of his first such operation in 1969, his hospital was run by nuns, and the surgeries remained secret for many years. Dr. Biber helped to make the operation a legitimate treatment for gender dysphoria.

All Work and No Play...

  • One of the country’s most haunted hotels is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Its ghost stories are so famous (or rather, infamous) that they inspired Steven King to write The Shining. The hotel was built with the profits from brothers F.O. and F.E. Stanley’s horseless carriage, the Stanley Steamer.

Everyman, USA

  • According to the research of a sociologist from Queen’s College, Fountain, Colorado best represents the population of the United States.

Yeehaw!

  • Colorado hosted the world’s first rodeo in Deer Trail in 1869 and today hosts the world’s largest rodeo each year, the Western Stock Show.

Author: Sheila Martin
Publish Date: Tue, 12/06/2011 - 10:41
Categories: Colorado, Living in