Most People Don’t Know How These 12 Colorado Counties Got Their Names
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Annie
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Larimer County. Moffat County. Kit Carson County. You have heard the names of Colorado counties, but just where do they come from? Believe it or not, there is a method to this madness, as evidenced by the stories behind these 12 Colorado counties:
This one may be somewhat obvious, but we are going to talk about it anyway! In 1855, the area was under the control of the Kansas Territorial Legislature, who named the county after the Arapahoe Nation who occupied the space. (Fun fact: Arapahoe was the first county in Colorado!)
Kit Carson is indeed a Colorado county located along the eastern border of the state and was named in honor of an American frontiersman. Have you visited the charming Kit Couty Carousel in Burlington?
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Contrary to popular belief, Broomfield County was NOT named after an ample amount of brooms dumped amongst random fields (please tell me I’m not the only one who thought this!), but actually for the broomcorn grown in the area.
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Nicknamed the "Heart of the Rockies," Chaffee County is located in the middle of Colorado and was named after Colorado’s first U.S. Senator, Jerome B. Chaffee.
Located in southwest Colorado (and home to the iconic Durango), La Plata County was named for the La Plata River and the La Plata Mountains. The name translates to "the silver" in Spanish.
Moving from the southwest corner up to the northeast, Sedgwick County was named for Fort Sedgwick; an old army post that was set up as a precaution against hostile Indian attacks. The post closed and abandoned in 1871.
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Get ready to be SHOCKED: Both the City and County of Boulder were named for all the boulders in the area. #mindblown
Any guesses as to where Lincoln County got its name? If you guessed former President Thomas Jefferson, you’d be correct! (*laughs at own terrible joke*) Lincoln County was named — of course — after the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.
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Oh good: Thomas Jefferson got his own Colorado county too, as did...
...and...
Garfield County was named in honor of President James A. Garfield, not fat and lazy cartoon cat that enjoys lasagna (although how funny would that be?!)
This county may be Bent, but it ain’t broken, as it was named for the infamous frontier trader William Bent! You’ve heard of Bent’s Fort, right? Yep; same guy.
Discover even more Colorado towns and counties by checking out our previous article: 13 Colorado Towns Whose Names Will Leave You Shaking Your Head.
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