St. Vrains County, Jefferson Territory

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St. Vrains County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 1859 until 1861-02-28.

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[edit] History

In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska, so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on 1859-10-24. The following month, the Jefferson Territorial Legislature organized 12 counties for the new territory: Arrappahoe County, Cheyenne County, El Paso County, Fountain County, Heele County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Montana County, North County, Park County, Saratoga County, and St. Vrains County. St. Vrains County was named in honor of Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, the French trader who established the first trading post on the upper South Platte River. St. Vrains County encompassed much of what is today Weld County, Colorado.

The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on 1861-02-28, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act organizing the Territory of Colorado.[1] On 1861-11-01, the Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties, including Weld County, for the new Colorado Territory.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado (PDF). Thirty-sixth United States Congress (1861-02-28). Retrieved on 2007-11-26.

[edit] External links


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