Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs was founded in 1871 by Civil War hero General William Jackson Palmer, who imagined a resort community always in view of Pikes Peak. Within 7 years the Antlers Hotel welcomed travelers, and by 1918 the Broadmoor Hotel added its grand profile to the southern edge of town.

Dry mountain air, natural mineral springs, and nearly 300 sunny days a year soon drew tuberculosis patients, turning Colorado Springs and neighboring Manitou Springs into sought-after health retreats. Gold discoveries on Pikes Peak’s western slope in the 1890s created the Cripple Creek Mining District, where more than 50,000 people chased one of America’s richest strikes. The boom minted millionaires like Spencer Penrose, who used his fortune to build the Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain highways, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Shrine, and the Broadmoor itself, then, with his wife Julie, launched the still-active El Pomar Foundation.

Inspired after reaching the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak around the turn of the century, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the words to “America the Beautiful,” forever linking the mountain to the nation’s story.

Military chapters followed. The U.S. Army opened Camp Carson in the 1940s, and the Air Force broke ground for the United States Air Force Academy in 1954. Today that legacy includes Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, U.S. Space Command, NORAD, Schriever Air Force Base, and the academy itself.

Colorado Springs has many layers to it's Cultural Significance.

• Pikes Peak is in Colorado Springs and was also the inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful."
• A huge hub for military defense, Colorado Springs is home to U.S. Air Force Academy, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Space Force Base, and Fort Carson.
• Historically, dwellings from the Four Corners have been moved and preserved in Manitou, just outside of Colorado Springs, to showcase the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi. You can explore these by visiting the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.
• Colorado Springs has one of the three United States Olympic Team Training Centers. You can tour this facility year-round.

1. Indigenous Heritage & Early Exploration

Long before European settlement, the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other tribes gathered around the mineral-rich springs and red rock canyons near Pikes Peak. Early 19th-century explorers like Zebulon Pike gave the region a new name—but the Indigenous roots remain foundational to its history.

1. Mineral Springs & Health-Driven Growth

By the 1880s, Colorado Springs attracted thousands of tuberculosis patients drawn by its dry climate, mountain air, and mineral springs. Sanatoriums like Cragmor, Glockner, Montcalm (Miramont Castle), and others became major institutions—many evolving into hospitals or educational campuses (e.g., UCCS).

1. Glen eyrie Castle: Palmer's Legacy

Built in 1871, Glen Eyrie is a Tudor-style castle that served as the home of Palmer and his wife Mary. Today preserved and open for tours, it stands as a grand architectural legacy—and a “castle in the Rockies.”

1. Waldo Canyon Fire

One of the most destructive wildfires in state history, the Waldo Canyon Fire (June–July 2012) scorched over 18,000 acres, destroyed 346 homes, forced the evacuation of 32,000+ residents, and caused upwards of $453 million in damages.

1. General William Jackson Palmer

   Founder of Colorado Springs and railroad visionary, General William Jackson Palmer earned a Medal of Honor during the Civil War and donated much of the city’s early infrastructure and public spaces.

2. Spencer and Julie Penrose

   Philanthropists Spencer and Julie Penrose established institutions such as The Broadmoor, the Fine Arts Center, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and the El Pomar Foundation, which continues to fund statewide civic programs.

3. Fannie Mae Duncan

   Fannie Mae Duncan opened Colorado Springs’ first integrated jazz club, the Cotton Club, hosting legends like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday and fostering racial integration decades before it was commonplace.

• Colorado Springs is the second largest city to Denver in the state of Colorado.
• Colorado Springs is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex/NORAD, Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base to the east, in addition to Fort Carson and the United States Air Force Academy.
• One of the country’s three Olympic Training Centers is in Colorado Springs. You can tour the facility year-round.