Aurora

AURORA HISTORY

By the time Donald Fletcher began acquiring property on the North side of Colfax Avenue in 1889, Denver was an established city. Various developers were acquiring land on what was then the outskirts of Denver and establishing small towns in every direction.

Then, as now, Aurora suffered from a lack of water. The streams that flowed through Aurora were occasionally a flood, but mostly a trickle, but never enough to create adequate water works for a substantial population. In spite of Donald Fletchers attempts to fill a reservoir with well water and additional water rights purchased from the new High Line Canal, Fletcher ran dry in 1894, and was forced to purchase water from the Denver Union Water Company. By that time the silver crises of 1893 had already devastated the Colorado economy, and Donald Fletcher had quietly disappeared from the area. By 1897, the residents of Fletcher voted to be annexed to Denver, but with its distance form the city center and the ongoing water problems, Denver failed to honor the annexation request.

By 1900 the town had some 200 residents, but the future was by no means assured. Water shortages and poor tax collection stymied the town’s growth and would do so for years to come. In spite of the difficulties, the town persevered, starting telephone service in 1900 and adding sidewalks along Colfax in 1901. Then in 1907, the residents of Fletcher petitioned to change the towns name to Aurora, and by 1910 the population had tripled and the community had a new town hall.

As the United States became involved in WWI, Aurora had a population exceeding 1,000, and a certain level of stability. The ongoing dependence on Denver for water held growth in check and seemingly never ending payments from failed water projects kept Aurora’s finance’s weak. Annexation to Denver seemed inevitable, but the war intervened. The casualties expected from the war, and particularly from injuries sustained from gas weapons led the Army Medical Corps to seek sites for medical facilities. Because of Denver’s reputation as an excellent area for tubercular recovery, Denver area leaders began to lobby politicians to choose Denver as a site for a hospital.

The Gutheil Nursery site at Colfax and Peoria was a likely site, so Aurora became involved in the effort to attract a facility. By 1918 the efforts succeeded, construction was begun in the summer and on October 13; the army dedicated Army Hospital 21. While Denver leadership put forth much of the effort and cash, the real winner was Aurora, with millions of dollars being pumped into the local economy. Permanence cam in July 1920 when the facility was formally named Fitzsimons Army Hospital, named after the nation’s first military death in WWI, Lt. William Fitzsimons.

During the 1920’s, Stapleton Airport became an economic force for Aurora, and with increased status coming by state recognition as a second class city, Aurora began to increase its city services. A fire station was built, sewer lines were run, some streets were paved, and Aurora’s 2000 residents started to enjoy the benefits of a serious city.

The Homestake water project, which Aurora undertook with Colorado Springs, finally separated Aurora from its dependence on Denver for water. In 1967, Aurora formally severed its relationship with the Denver Water Board. With foresight from city leaders in developing further water supplies, Aurora’s growth skyrocketed. By the mid 1980’s, the population exceeded 200,000 and Aurora was looking to create economic independence form Denver.

Today, Aurora is poised to become second only to Denver as the states largest city and economic powerhouse. With the redevelopment of Fitzsimons, the city’s emergence as a distribution magnet, the continued growth of Buckley Air Force Base as the Denver area’s only active military installation, and the long planned development of the City Center becoming a reality, Aurora’s future is secured.

Aurora Facts

Colorado’s third largest city by population (2003 approximately 294,000), and second to Denver in land area (144 square miles). Aurora is the 62nd most populous city in the United States after Corpus Christi, Texas.

Aurora Neighborhoods