Auraria, Denver

Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the United States. Today it survives in its original location as a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, south of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.

History

The town was founded by William Greeneberry Russell and party of fellow settlers from Georgia on November 1, 1858, three weeks before William Larimer platted the future "Denver City" across Cherry Creek. The town was named for the gold mining settlement of Auraria, Georgia. Auraria declined at Denver's expense when Russell and many of his party returned to Georgia at the outbreak of the American Civil War in order to fight for the Confederacy. Auraria officially ceased to exist on April 6, 1860 when it was incorporated into Denver, and was referred to as West Denver.

In April 1859 Auraria was the site of a small convention of settlers with the intention of creating a local government out of Arapaho County, the western portion of the Kansas Territory. The settlers chose the name "Jefferson" in honor of Thomas Jefferson. On August 1, 37 district representatives met to draft a constitution for the provisional "State of Jefferson", which was subsequently rejected in a popular referendum on September 24. The original authors determined to hold another convention on October 3, and drafted a provisional constitution for the Territory of Jefferson. The territory was never recognized by the U.S. government, and it ceased to exist even unofficially when the Colorado Territory was organized by the Act of Congress in 1861. By that time, Auraria had been eclipsed by Denver, which had been designated as the county seat of Arapaho County and was subsequently chosen as the territorial capital.

Modern Auraria

The name "Auraria" survives in Denver as the neighborhood along the west bank of Cherry Creek to the east bank of the South Platte River, bordered on the south by Colfax Avenue. Auraria is easily confused with, but is entirely distinct from the City of Aurora, Denver's neighbor some six miles to the east.

The neighborhood of Auraria is dominated by the Auraria Campus, which is home to three institutions of higher learning: University of Colorado Denver (UCD), Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD), and Community College of Denver (CCD). Vestiges of the old neighborhood remain, however, in the Ninth Street Historic Park on the campus. Although the three institutions occupy the bulk of the Auraria Neighborhood, there is very little permanent residence. The schools mainly serve commuter students, though housing has recently developed at Campus Village Apartments (UCD), the Inn at Auraria, and The Regency.

The other two major features of modern Auraria are Elitch Gardens and the Pepsi Center arena, home of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth, and the Colorado Crush, as well as the venue of concerts and other events.

The heritage streetcar Platte Valley Trolley services some of the major venues and runs west into Lakewood from its beginning at Confluence Park in Auraria.