Colorado history

Friday, October 16, 2026

A president draws a line around timber before the locals finish arguing, and diggers start a ballpark on Blake Street

Harrison sets aside the White River Plateau before Colorado finishes deciding if it likes forests

1891 · White River Plateau, northwestern Colorado

On October 16, 1891, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the White River Plateau Timber Land Reserve, the second forest reserve in the United States and the first in Colorado. It covered about 1.2 million acres and later became the core of the White River National Forest.

Congress had given the president the power earlier that year. Local ranchers, timber men, and newspapers in Meeker were not enthusiastic. The Meeker Herald called the idea a damnable outrage and a national-park scheme in disguise. Other papers worried about cattle and taxes. Glenwood and Denver were more supportive. Harrison signed it anyway.

The reserve sat on the White River Plateau, headwaters of the White, Williams Fork, and Yampa. In 1902 Theodore Roosevelt adjusted the boundaries and renamed it the White River Forest Reserve. It absorbed other units later and is now the most-visited national forest in the country, full of ski areas, trails, and the usual arguments about what public land is for. The day is still marked with a historical marker near Meeker.

Sources: Forest Service Museum · Post Independent · Historical Marker Database

Ground is broken for Coors Field on a stretch of Blake Street that still looks industrial

1992 · Lower Downtown, Denver

On October 16, 1992, officials broke ground for Coors Field at 20th and Blake. The Rockies had been awarded a franchise the year before and were playing at Mile High while the new park went up. It opened in 1995.

Voters had approved a sales-tax district. The site won partly because the land was cheaper and partly because LoDo was already trying to save its warehouses. Construction dug up triceratops bones, which is how the Rockies ended up with a purple dinosaur mascot. Capacity started at a planned 43,000 and grew once people saw how many tickets sold at Mile High.

The park opened April 26, 1995, against the Mets. It was the first new National League ballpark since Dodger Stadium and helped pull Lower Downtown out of its quiet years. Thirty-plus years later it is still the highest ballpark in the majors and still has a roof that does not close, which is either confidence or a dare, depending on the October forecast.

Sources: Wikipedia · SABR · Westword

October 16 in Denver: 7.3 inches of snow in 1928, 89 degrees in 1991, and the usual argument about jackets

1928 · Denver

Denver’s October 16 records include 7.3 inches of snow in 1928 (the most on the date), a high of 89°F in 1991, a low of 22°F in 1969 and 2020, and a record-low maximum of 34°F in 1989.

In 1928 a thunderstorm on the 15th turned to snow and left 7.3 inches in the city by the afternoon of the 16th. In 1991 it hit 89, still the warmest October 16 on the books. In 1998 a hailstorm on the date caused nearly $88 million in damage, ranking among the costliest in metro history at the time. In 1878 sustained winds reached 60 mph.

Average high is about 65. You can still get a freeze or a late-summer afternoon. The Bronco Blizzard the day before in 1984 left leftover snow and closed roads into the 16th. Classic October: the forecast is a suggestion and the coat check is a negotiation.

Sources: Extreme Weather Watch · Thornton Weather · NWS Denver/Boulder