The City of Boulder has a rich and complex history, stretching long before its incorporation in 1871. While some of that history has been told, the city recognizes that much of its history and stories have been historically excluded. Boulder has an archival silence, or gap, in our historical record, for the Native American/Indigenous perspective of history. We also acknowledge that a majority of archival materials focus on the perspective of the white, predominantly male European settlers of the Boulder Valley.

Learn About Boulder's History

In 2019, Boulder City Council resolved to “seek out and support ways to honor, acknowledge and memorialize the lives, deaths, struggles and contributions of people of color from Boulder.” This series intends to critically reflect on our past and uncover a more comprehensive, truthful history. City staff will research and present a more complete story of Boulder, one that includes experiences of European immigration, Black migration, Black, Indigenous, Latino, Chicano, Asian American and LGBTQ+ stories, success and failure, poverty and wealth, community and exclusion.

These stories and presentations by city staff are presented regularly to the city’s Landmarks Board during Matters and give us as a city and community the opportunity to ask new questions, and record and uncover a more inclusive history.

Questions and comments can be addressed to landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov.

Boulder's Civic Area, 1880s to the 1920s

Watch the video below to learn more about the people who lived in Boulder’s Civic Area from the 1880s until 1920s, including:

  • Mollie Gordon, the first Black woman to independently own property in Boulder;
  • Jacob Solomon, the first Boulder resident to die of the flu pandemic of 1918-1920; and
  • Jennie Johnson, who fought the city to prevent her eviction from the once thriving predominantly African-American neighborhood

Second Baptist Church and Congregation

Founded in 1900, Second Baptist was more than a place of worship. It was a center of community life, mutual aid and opportunity for Boulder’s small but determined Black population. Its story is deeply connected to the broader history of Black self-determination in the American West.

Boulder's Japanese Language School

In 1942, Boulder became home to the U.S. Navy’s Japanese Language School, a wartime program that trained officers in Japanese language and culture. The school helped the U.S. military during World War II, but its local story is also one of resilience, discrimination and the overlooked contributions of Japanese American teachers and families.

Accessibility Statement

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