The Denver area was originally inhabited by several Indian tribes, including the
Arapaho, Comanche, and Kiowa. In 1858-9 gold was discovered on the South
Platte River ( at the junction of Cherry Creek ) in what is now the center of
the City of Denver ( formerly an outfitting post for fur trappers, traders etc. ).

The city was destroyed by fire in 1863, and a flash flood swept away many
buildings, including the city hall the following year. Indian wars on the plains in
the 1860's slowed the community's growth, but it was selected as the
territorial capital in 1867. The town prospered in the following period,
due in part, to the area's mining. When the transcontinental railway was built
through Wyoming, Denver's citizens organized their own railway, completed in
1870. The resulting economic boom increased the population from just under
5,000 in 1870 to 100,000 in 1890. And by the time of the out break of
World War I in Europe ( 1914 ), Colorado had become the nation's breadbasket.
Here are checks from one of the earliest provisioners of this western city,
with a lovely vignette of grain & hay, dated from the early 1900's. All in very
fine condition with "paid" cancels and date stamps of the First National Bank.