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Colorado is known as the Centennial State because it became a state in 1876, the same year as the US centennial celebration. It was the only state admitted that year and was previously denied statehood. Its official nickname was voted by the legislature and is used on official documents. Other common nicknames include Colorful Colorado, Silver State, Lead State, and the highest state.
Colorado is called the Centennial State because it became a state in 1876, the same year that the United States was engaged in its centennial celebration to commemorate 100 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Colorado was the 38th state, and the only state admitted to the union in 1876. Earning statehood is no easy thing, and Colorado’s leaders had worked a long time preparing their petition — and it had actually been denied once before . The timing of admission led leaders of the day to begin calling Colorado the Centennial State. The name caught on in the rest of the country, and modern lawmakers voted to make it the “official” nickname for Colorado today. Most states, including Colorado, have many different nicknames in different places and among different groups of people. In most cases, states have only one nickname that has been voted on by the legislature and can be used on official documents. For Colorado “Centennial” holds this honor.
Transition from Territory to State
Colorado Territory was created by the United States Congress in 1861. Its name comes from the Rio Colorado – the Colorado River – which was named by Spanish explorers to the region. In Spanish, the word colorado means “colored red” and was likely used in reference to the red earth and rock formations that occur throughout much of the state.
Timeline of Colorado statehood
On August 1, 1876, sixteen years after the territory was formed, the State of Colorado was admitted to the Union and became the 38th state. That year, the United States was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. Among the events held that year was the Centennial Exposition, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the first World’s Fair to be held in the United States As the only state admitted that year—the only one between 1867 and 1889, in fact—Colorado quickly became known as the Centennial State by both locals and foreigners.
However, Colorado almost certainly would not have been called the Centennial State if it had been accepted as a state on the first try. The US Congress passed a law that would have allowed Colorado to obtain statehood in 1865, 11 years before the US centennial, but then-President Andrew Johnson vetoed the law. Johnson was succeeded by Ulysses S. Grant in 1869, and in 1870 Grant began advocating for Colorado to be a state. On March 3, 1875, the United States Congress reauthorized Colorado for statehood and Grant signed Proclamation 230 – Admission of Colorado to the Union in 1876.
The importance of an “official” nickname
Most US states have a number of nicknames and descriptors; most have a state tree, state flower, and state animal, for example. Some of these are formal and some are not. In most cases, the primary distinction between formal and informal — or official and unofficial — designation is an act of the state congress. The main reason “Centennial” is Colorado’s official nickname is because the Colorado legislature made it so. It is used on official state documents and is also the phrase used on things like some license plates and the Colorado Memorial District, which is used extensively in modern US currency.
Other common nicknames
Colorado has been known by many different names since it first joined the union. One of the most common nicknames, for example, is “Colorful Colorado,” a name the state government has used in the past on signs, tourist information, and other promotional materials. Colorado’s rich mineral deposits have led to the alternative nicknames “Silver State” and “Lead State”, its high altitude has led to it being called the highest state. It has even been called the Buffalo Plains State because of the bison that once roamed there.
