History
Ute Indians were the first inhabitants into this area that is nestled against the foothills near Boulder. The Indians lived within the walls of the canyon because they provided protection from the harsh Colorado winters. Settlers soon followed in search of gold and agriculture. Eldorado Canyon is famous for its spectacular geologic history dating back billions of years ago. Near the park’s entrance at the visitors center, there are rocks calculated to be over 1.5 billion years old.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the town of Eldorado Springs was established and was known as a resort for the elite. The town offered visitors warm artesian springs and lush hotels including the Crags Hotel, the Eldorado and the Grand View. Numerous celebrities and Denver residents enjoyed the beautiful getaway until a fire burned all these hotels in 1912.
The town also received considerable attention between 1906–1949 when Ivy Baldwin performed tight rope acts across the canyon 580 feet (180 m) in mid-air. Like Ivy Baldwin, many visitors enjoy the spectacular views of the park from a higher perspective, but these visitors prefer rockclimbing to a tight rope.
Read more about this topic: Eldorado Canyon State Park
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Bias, point of view, fury—are they ... so dangerous and must they be ironed out of history, the hills flattened and the contours leveled? The professors talk ... about passion and point of view in history as a Calvinist talks about sin in the bedroom.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973)
“Boys forget what their country means by just reading “the land of the free” in history books. Then they get to be men, they forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)
“The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)