Simply Curious

My decision to blog about Boulder turned out to be a bit limited.  I won't be living here much longer!  We'll be moving east to Erie, Colorado shortly, and everything I've scouted out will not necessarily be the most convenient to my new location.  Oh well!

I thought I'd write a little about the other towns and a little history if I can find it.  Information generally pulled from Wikipedia.  Will do more research later to fact check and expand.

Broomfield: Incorporated in 1961, named after broomcorn, or sorghum, that grows in the area.  A breakaway town from Boulder.

Boulder: named after Boulder Creek, which is full of large chunks of granite washed down from the mountain.  Settled in 1858, incorporated in 1871.

Erie: Incorporated in 1874, named in honor of the influential Rev. Richard Van Valkenburg's hometown of Erie, PA. Coal mining town.

Gunbarrel: more of an area than a town - presumably named for the straightness of the road between Boulder and Longmont, 'gunbarrel straight.'  (info found on a cached version of gunbarrel.net)

Lafayette: Incorporated in 1890, named in honor of Homesteader Lafayette Miller by his wife, Mary, who donated the land for the town in 1888.  A coal mining town.

Longmont: Founded in 1871, incorporated in 1885, named for Long's Peak, a nearby mountain feature.  A planned community laid out by Chicago businessmen.

Louisville:  Incorporated in 1882, named after landowner Louis Nawatny.  (the s in Louisville IS pronounced.)  Coal mining town originally, it now regularly ranks as one of the top towns to live in the US.

Niwot: Platted in 1875. Named for Arapaho Chief Niwot (Left Hand), who attempted to interact peacefully with early settlers, but was killed in the Sand Hill Massacre of 1864.

Superior: Coal mining town, founded 1896, incorporated 1904, the coal in this area was 'superior' to the soft coal being mined along Coal Creek (Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, etc) and so proudly named.

Westminster: Settled in 1859, incorporated in 1911.  Previously called DeSpain Junction, Harris, and Darell Park.  Finally renamed after nearby Westminster University.  Gold mining town.