50,000 expected at Territory Days in Old Colorado City
The annual three-day Territory Days event attracts about 50,000 people to its blocks-long celebration of what was once Colorado City, the last settlement before gold seekers headed into the mountains of Cripple Creek. Festivities include music, food, entertainment and a Memorial Day observance at 3 p.m. Monday in Bancroft Park.
When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday
Where: Old Colorado City, along Colorado Avenue between 23rd and 27th streets
Cost: Free; shopoldcoloradocity.com/territory-days/
Fun fact: In 1859, a small settlement named El Dorado was renamed Colorado City and became the first permanent town in the Pikes Peak region. By 1886, the Colorado Midland Railroad was one of the town’s largest employers. And after gold first was discovered in Cripple Creek in 1891, four gold ore reduction mills began to operate.