1881 Colorado state capital referendum

Although Denver City was always the largest town in the Territory of Colorado since its recognition in 1861, and then the state, admitted to the union in 1876, there were always those in the state who opposed putting the capital in Denver. The first meeting of the Colorado territorial legislature, held in Denver in 1861, chose Colorado City (now part of Colorado Springs) as the capital. But when the legislature met in Colorado City for the first time in 1862, the facilities were so inadequate that after five days, the delegates voted to adjourn and reconvene in Denver. But when they reconvened in Denver, they chose not to stay there, and named Golden as the territorial capital. Although Golden was officially the territorial capital, the legislature often met in Denver, because it was more of a city.[1] In 1867, the legislature voted to move the state government to Denver.

Following 1867 were years of stalemate. Although Denver had enough influence to prevent the removal of the acting capital from Denver, there was also enough opposition to prevent it from being designated as the permanent capital. When Colorado drafted a constitution for admission as a state in 1876, the framers feared that if the state constitution designated any city as the permanent state capital, it would arouse enough opposition that the voters would not ratify the constitution. To solve the dilemma, the Colorado state constitution kicked the problem down the road by providing that a permanent state capital would be chosen by statewide popular vote five years later, in 1881.[2]

Although Denver was a transportation hub, and had more than twice the population of the next-largest city in Colorado, four other cities put themselves forward as sites for the capital. Denver's rivals hoped to use antipathy toward Denver to have themselves named as the capital.

Some of the larger towns in Colorado did not mount active campaigns for the capital. Leadville, which in 1880 census was the second-most populous town in Colorado with a population of 14,820, showed no interest in becoming state capital. Neither did Silver Cliff, then Colorado's third-largest with a population of 5,040. Golden, which had hosted the territorial government from 1862 to 1867, did not try to win back the capital in 1881.

The referendum was held on 8 November 1881. A total of 45,497 votes were counted. In each city vying for state capital, lopsided majorities voted for their hometowns. In Pueblo County, 2,039 voted for Pueblo, and just 44 for other towns.[6] Arapahoe County, of which Denver was then the county seat, held off releasing its count until nearly all of the other counties had reported, counted 8,839 votes for Denver, which were 99.8 percent of the 8,857 ballots counted.[7] Denver won on the first ballot, thus avoiding a runoff vote.

Denver was widely accused of buying votes, and bribing newspaper editors to back it for the state capital.

The Colorado Springs Gazette decried the "terrible political contest in which fraud, corruption and dishonor played so important a part."[15]

The editor of the Salida Mountain Mail congratulated Denver on its victory, and noted that Denver was a beautiful city that deserved the capital. The editor confessed that the campaign for Salida was just a publicity stunt to bring the town to public attention, and that it had succeeded. He wrote that although Denver had spent "thousands of dollars, perhaps hundreds of thousands" bribing newspaper editors and hiring "bummers" to vote for Denver, the money had performed a public service by supporting newspapers and indigent citizens across the state.[16]

The Pueblo Chieftain decided that the town was better off without the capital:

We may have missed the state capital, but we have also missed the corrupting influences of a legislative lobby and our wives and our tender maidens will not be exposed to the insidious wiles of the polished member from the rural districts.[17]