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Farmsteaders
Dryland farms dotted the area. Early farmsteaders began to establish themselves on the land. -
Louisiana Purchase
Area around today's Broomfield was purchased in the Louisiana Purchase. -
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Pre-Colorado
The area was successively recognized as part of the Missouri Territory, Nebraska and Kansas, until 1861 when the Colorado Territory was created. -
GOLD & Railroads
"Gold Fever" - after the 1849 discovery of gold in California, the 1850 discovery in Ralston Creek south of Broomfield in what is now Arvada, and the 1859 discovery in Boulder Creek. The westward migration was on in earnest. Railroad companies gobbled up the West through the beneficence of the U.S. government and Broomfield's destiny was begun. -
Colorado Becomes a State
The Broomfield area officially joined the union when Colorado became a state. -
Zang Family Develops Broomfield
Ultimately, Zang bought 4,000 acres of land in the area for his Elmwood Stock Farm where he bred Percheron horses, and tended fruit orchards. -
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Homesteading, Farming, Growing
Soon, Broomfield had a garage, then two, and a "filling station." They joined the Grange Hall, a hotel and general store, flour mill, cheese factory, bank, creamery, grain elevator, restaurants, lumber yard and a barbershop. In the 1920s, the area also boasted a sugar beet dump, a pickle factory and about a dozen residences. From 1900 to 1957, about 100 people lived on farmland in the area. -
Big Cars in Broomfield
By 1908, the big cars were serving Broomfield on a regular basis from area cities. By 1909, Broomfield had 19 passengers per day coming through town, prompting construction of a new depot which stood at the corner of present-day 120th Ave. and Old Wadsworth. In 1909, it was possible to board in Broomfield for almost any point in the U.S., Canada or Mexico. -
Boulder Turnpike
In 1950, construction began on the Boulder Turnpike, a toll road, and one of the first paved roads in the area. It stretched between Wadsworth and Boulder, with a tollbooth in Broomfield. The road�s cost was paid by the tolls. In 1955, the new Broomfield began. Turnpike Land Co. had purchased land in the area, and today�s Broomfield was conceived as a master planned community billed as a model city. -
Booming City
By 1961 when the city became incorporated, the population had grown to 6,000. -
City and County of Broomfield
In the late 1990s, Broomfield made history. To help alleviate the problems and confusion in accessing services with the City of Broomfield, residents sought relief in a constitutional amendment creating a City and County of Broomfield. Meridian Elementary opened in 2003.
