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The Cherry Creek watershed is one of the most dominant geographical and cultural features of the
Denver metropolitan area. The Creek connects communities in Denver, Arapahoe and Douglas counties. For centuries
this connection was used by Native Americans, trappers, traders and adventurers who followed the Cherokee trail north
from the Santa Fe Trail on toward the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, the site of Denver’s
original settlement. The area also supported the first lumber industry and the initial purebred cattle industry within
the state.
Thousands of pioneers traveled this trail between 1859-1865 in search of gold. There were
stage stations along the trail where one could change horses. Today some of this history is preserved in two historic
stage stops located along the trail, one the 17-Mile House in Arapahoe County and the other the 4-Mile House in Denver.
In July of 1858, William Green Russell and his brothers made a small gold discovery on Cherry
Creek and nearby Dry Creek, and subsequently General William Larimer led a group of men from the Kansas Territory to
establish a settlement there. The resulting settlement was christened Denver City in honor of James W. Denver,
governor of Kansas Territory. Cherry Creek provided a boundary between Denver City and another community established
earlier, Auraria. Despite an initial rivalry, these two communities were consolidated into the single community of
Denver in 1860.
Though early settlers in the region were warned of the potential for flooding along Cherry
Creek, early Denver grew along it banks and was subsequently flooded several times, leading to the construction in 1950 of
Cherry Creek reservoir by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood protection. Learn about the 1935
Castlewood Canyon dam break and flood that was the impetus for the Cherry Creek
dam and reservoir.
Through much of this period the creek became degraded and was lost as a community asset.
This began to change when, in 1959, recreational demands on the reservoir led to the creation of the Cherry Creek
State Recreation Area, Colorado’s first state park. Today, the Park is Colorado’s busiest with an estimated 1.5
million visitors a year.
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