City Council Agenda and Packet 2019 01 15 SP

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND REGIONAL HISTORY PRIOR TO LOUISVILLE'S FOUNDING (1860-1878) The year 1860 is used as a somewhat arbitrary beginning of the Historic period in Colorado; in that year, Euro-Americans (Anglos) firmly established their control over most lands in the eastern part of the state. They relegated the Native American tribes of the Cheyenne and Arapaho to a reservation that was much smaller than their traditional hunting grounds, which had been loosely defined by the Platte River on the north and the Arkansas River on the south and included much of present-day eastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming, southwestern Nebraska, and western Kansas (Fowler 2001). This tightening of Anglo control over Native Americans was precipitated by numerous events and the dramatically increasing numbers of Anglos who were moving into the West. Following the California Gold Rush, a steady stream of miners, beginning in 1849, traveled through portions of Colorado's Front Range along overland routes, such as Trapper's Trail and the Cherokee Trail, to reach mining sites. Then, in 1858, gold was discovered at the confluence of the Platte River and Cherry Creek in Denver. This discovery brought significantly larger numbers of Anglo settlers to the Front Range, with miners moving onto lands reserved for tribes and demanding that the federal government dissolve Indian claims (Clark 1999). In reaction, the Northern Arapahoe began to withdraw into Wyoming and Montana, allying themselves with the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes, and the Southern Arapaho withdrew down the Arkansas River (Fowler 2001). At the same time, the federal government and settlers exerted still more control over land and resources. During a meeting with the federal government in 1860, the southern Cheyenne and Arapaho agreed to give up their previously defined lands, except for a triangular -shaped area located between the Arkansas River and Sand Creek, located approximately 200 miles (322 km) southeast of Louisville. Each tribal member was to receive 40 acres of land within this new reservation. The government also promised a $30,000 subsidy to tribes for 15 years and the building of a grist mill, saw mill, and schools (Ubbelohde et al. 1995). However, not all tribal members were in agreement and not all remained on assigned reservation lands. Then, in 1861, the Colorado Territory was established. Tensions between Native Americans and Anglos continued to increase after the establishment of the Colorado Territory, resulting in the killing of the Anglo Hungate family of four in 1864, approximately 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Denver. The Arapaho and Cheyenne leaders went to Fort Lyon, less than 200 miles (322 km) south- southeast of Louisville, to make peace, and many families camped on their Sand Creek Reservation during the late fall. Then, on November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist clergyman, launched a surprise attack on more than 500 Arapaho and Cheyenne living at Sand Creek. Chivington's troops killed at least 100 people, primarily women, children, and the elderly. After subsequent revenge and counter attacks, the government crafted the Medicine Lodge Creek Treaty in October 1867, whereby the southern Cheyenne and Arapaho agreed to move to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. More Anglo-Native American skirmishes occurred over the next two years, with the final military engagement between Native Americans and federal troops occurring at Summit Springs in northeastern Colorado. After that time, Colorado's Front Range was permanently opened for rapid Anglo exploitation and settlement (Ubbelohde et al. 1995). 11