38th Star: Colorado Becomes the Centennial State

On August 1, 1876, Colorado became the Centennial State—but we almost didn’t. It took five tries and more than fifteen years for Colorado to become a state. 

This exhibition explores Colorado’s long road to statehood. Our first four attempts at statehood throughout the 1860s were derailed by questions like who should be allowed to vote and what policies the government should adopt. Which economic interests - mining, agriculture, ranching, railroads, or others - should receive the greatest consideration? What good was being a state, anyway? Other voices were left out entirely. Southern Coloradans found themselves in a new territory they had never asked to be in, and Native people living across Colorado were displaced from their homelands. Each attempt at statehood faced problems of politics and power as factions sought consensus in building a new state.

Now through September 26, 2026

This exhibition invites visitors to revisit the Centennial State’s origins through the authentic photographs, documents, artifacts, and voices that formed the Centennial State. This is where Colorado begins.

This exhibition is sponsored by Rio Grande Co., CBS Colorado, Colorado Public Radio and Westword Magazine.