On November 22, 1858, Denver City Town Company founded by William H. Larimer party from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory (Colorado Territory was formed from Kansas Territory in 1861). The plaque reads as follows:
Denver City
The area known today as Lower Downtown is the location of the original town of Denver. Gold seekers from Lawrence, Kansas staked the first claim in September 1858, under the name St. Charles Town Association, but they left only one man to protect their claim. Late that same year, another group form Kansas persuaded the lone man to relinquish the claim. General William Larimer named the town in honor of the Kansas Territory Governor, James William Denver, to ensure the success of this new claim.
There were only 25 cabins in Denver during that first winter of 1858, and less than 50 in the neighboring town of Auraria. However, the following year of 1859 brought thousands of men who had heard the often-exaggerated talk of large gold strikes in the Denver area.
Between the years of 1858 and 1870, over 27 million dollars in gold was taken out of the vast wilderness area surrounding Denver. Although some settlers came to start a new life in this young town, most were only interested in making a quick fortune. As a result, Denver’s rapidly growing population consisted largely of disorderly vagrants.
In the beginning of Denver’s history, most of the town’s buildings were constructed of wood. Consequently, the fire of 1863 completely destroyed large portions of the young town. To prevent the possibility of future disasters more permanent brick buildings were erected. These buildings, as well as the ones built during the ensuing years, can still be seen in the historic Lower Downtown District.
There is much mention of the Fire of 1863. This information comes from the Denver Firefighters Museum Field Trip Handout. "In 1861, the year Denver City was incorporated, citizens considered the need for a volunteer
fire department. At that time, the city was dependent on fire wardens to inspect chimneys, trashpiles and ash dumping. The city’s building code allowed building of wood frame structures and shacks at will until April 19, 1863 when a huge fire destroyed much of the business
district.
In 1866 a letter was circulated around Denver asking for the signatures of those interested in forming a fire department. The all volunteer Denver Hook and Ladder Company No. One was founded on March 25, 1866. The firemen were called to put out fires around the city using the bucket brigade method. Buckets of water were passed hand to hand from a water source and then thrown on the fire. Firefighting took place this way because Denver did not have a ready source of
water with volume and convenience for fire fighting especially in the winter.
By 1867, the Fire Company purchased a hand operated engine. This hand-drawn piece of apparatus was used until 1872 and is now housed at the Museum. A large black rubber hose was attached to one end of the engine while the other end was placed in a water source such as a
creek or cistern. Ten men would stand on either side and raise and lower two wooden bars which caused the pump to pull water into the engine. Hoses from a hose reel were attached to the other end of the
engine. Water was pumped from the engine through the hoses and onto the fire. The men worked hard to create enough pressure to force the water through approximately 100 feet of hose.
In December of 1880, a fire ordinance was passed which provided for the appointment of one Fire Marshal, two Engineers, two Stokers, two Captains, six Drivers, six horsemen, four Laddermen, and seven Janitors. This ordinance ushered in the era of paid firefighters and horse drawn fire apparatus."