El Paso County (Jefferson Territory)
The El Paso County was a county of the out of the US law Jefferson Territory , which consisted of 28 November 1859 to 28 February. 1861
history
In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in the Arapahoe County , Kansas Territory . This discovery sparked the Pikes Peak gold rush . Many residents of the mining area felt separate from the distant territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska , so they voted on October 24, 1859 to form their own Jefferson Territory. In the following months, the Jefferson Territory General Assembly voted to organize 12 counties: Arrappahoe County , Cheyenne County , El Paso County, Fountain County , Heele County , Jackson County ,Jefferson County , Mountain County , North County , Park County , Saratoga County, and St. Vrain County . El Paso County was named after the Spanish named Ute Pass north of Pikes Peak . Colorado City was the county seat of El Paso County.
The Jefferson Territory never received state support. On February 28, 1861, United States President James Buchanan signed a bill that organized the Colorado Territory . On November 1, 1861, the Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties, including El Paso Counties and Pueblo Counties , for the new Colorado Territory.
Individual evidence
- ↑ An Act Defining the Boundaries of Counties and for other purposes . In: Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory . General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson. November 28, 1859. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
- ^ An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado ( PDF ; 18 kB) 36th US Congress. February 28, 1861. Retrieved November 26, 2007.