Leah Welborn
Happy Colorado Day! 141 years ago, on August 1, 1876, Colorado officially became the 38th state in the Union. Of course, that’s not the beginning of Colorado history. Wikipedia dates that to around 14,000 BCE, when “ice-age Paleoamericans begin using the ice-free corridor east of the Rocky Mountains to migrate throughout the Americas.” Around 11,000 BCE, some of those Paleoamericans developed what is now called the Folsom culture, and put down roots at the Lindenmeier Site in present-day Larimer County near Fort Collins.
Fast forward thousands and thousands of years to 1908, when an African-American cowboy and amateur archaeologist named George McJunkin discovered what would come to be known as the Folsom Site just south of the Colorado border with New Mexico (not far from our store in Trinidad). McJunkin’s discovery changed our perception of human history, as it demonstrated that people had occupied North America at least 7,000 years longer than had previously been thought.
When you look at it in that context, the 141 years of Colorado statehood have passed in the blink of an eye.
Several local establishments (Stranahan’s Distillery and Steuben’s are among them) are offering all sorts of specials to honor Colorado Day. History Colorado is offering free admission and is hosting a daylong celebration of Colorado’s diverse history, and next Monday (August 7) all 41 state parks will waive their entrance fee in celebration.
The Green Solution® is proud to be a corporate citizen of Colorado. As we go national – and even international – we’ll never forget our origins in the Centennial State. Stop by any of our locations today to celebrate with us!