Written by Ron Childs
Happy Birthday Colorado…
from a territory (1861 to 1876) to
a state (1876) to our existing 64 counties today!
“On all the broad extent of these United States certainly no region can be found which presents
more facts of interest, more opportunities for investigation, and greater possibilities of new
discoveries, than the state of Colorado.” - S.F. Emmons, 1883, United States Geological Survey
Here are some interesting facts to digest when thinking of Colorado:
 The Rocky Mountains have 58 peaks over 14,000 feet high, all of them in Colorado
 Has more than two vertical miles between the lowest and highest point
 Is the birthplace of 6 major rivers
 85% of the land where ownership is transferred will not include mineral rights
 Was the second state in the United States to produce oil commercially (near Florence)
 It was in Boulder County, where in 1901, when oil was discovered in the Pierre Shale which led to
the opening of the Julesburg Basin…today Boulder is the hotbed of opposition to drilling
 The City of Greeley has over 427 oil and gas wells within its boundaries
 Weld County has over 20,128 oil and gas wells
 Denver is ranked the world’s third top city by the oil and gas industry behind Dubai, UAE and
Calgary, Canada
Many claims on the lands later known as the Territory of Colorado were made by the French and
the Spanish due to the concept of discovery explorations by France and Spain. In 1803 the United
States purchased an area from N. Bonaparte consisting of 900,000 acres. By 1845, the Republic of
Texas made claims to areas which are now Colorado but those same claims were disputed by the
Republic of Mexico after Mexico won its independence from Spain. But, after 1845, and the
Mexican-American War, the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo forced Mexico to cede the old Mexican
territories into the United States. Prior to 1861, the area called the Territory of Colorado was part
of Utah, New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska which were organized as territories in 1850 and 1854.
Then in 1861 the United States Congress created the “Colorado Territory.”
Title to lands in Colorado including Mexican Land Grants can be traced to United States Patents
or State of Colorado patents. Title to all lands in Colorado, both surface and mineral, begins with
a patent issued either by the United States or the State of Colorado. This applies to railroad lands
which originate with a patent from the United States to the railroads and also applies to Mexican
Land Grants all of which have confirming patents issued by the United States.
A patent to land is a conveyance as authorized by statute that relates back to the date the
patentee qualified to receive it. Homesteaders and miners obtained fee simple title upon
completion of all statutory obligations. However, there were claims made by settlers who squatted
on public domain and their claims were recognized by the United States when a preferential right
of purchase was acknowledged at $1.25 per acre for those who filed a statement of claim, entered,
cultivated and erected improvements on 160 acres of less. The Pre-emption Act of 1841 adopted
this legal principle and pre-emption was an acknowledged policy of the United States until the Act
was repealed in 1891.
In 1862, the Homestead Act was passed by Congress when the civil war
began and the southern States succeeded from the Union. The remaining
Northern Congress, during Lincoln’s administration, passed this critical
Homestead Act to settle lands such as in the Territory of Colorado as quickly
as possible. The result:
 Final homestead patents were issued on 3,095,259 acres of Colorado
between 1868 and 1904
 Pre-emption claims were filed on 2,784,767 acres between 1881 and
1884 in Colorado
The United States made land grants to the railroads consisting of the odd numbered sections in
each township 20 miles on each side of the track (place lands) totaling 4,171,183 acres. These
railroads were the Union Pacific, Denver Pacific and the Kansas Pacific which all three later merged
into the Union Pacific. The United States also made land grants to the State of Colorado for
schools, public seminary and colleges adding up to over 3,685,618 acres. The United States still
retains ownership of public domain land in Colorado representing 33% of the state.
The 1862 Homestead Act initially was to act as an incentive for settlers to endure the frontier and
homestead 160 acres. Later other Acts of Congress permitted entry upon 320 acres under the
Timber and Stone Act of 1878 and up to 640 acres under the Desert Land Act of 1877. In 1909 and
1912 Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act for 320 acres requiring a residence for five
years (later found to be too long for the homesteader to “prove up” and reduced to three years)
along with crops planted.
Today, the public policy of homestead is to secure to the householder a home for himself and
family regardless of financial conditions, whether solvent or insolvent. This homestead exemption
attaches automatically upon occupancy of real property as a home by the owner or the owner’s
family.
“Every homestead in the State of Colorado shall be exempt from execution and attachment arising
from any debt, contract or civil obligation not exceeding in actual cash value in excess of any liens
or encumbrances on the homesteaded property in existence at the time of levy of execution
thereon: a) the sum of $60,000 if the homestead is occupied as a home by an owner thereof or an
owner’s family; b) the sum of $90,000 if the homestead is occupied as a home by an elderly or
disabled owner, an elderly or disabled spouse of an owner or an elderly or disabled dependent of an
owner.” The term elderly means an owner, spouse or dependent who is 60 years of age or older.
This scope of protection extends certain protection to the premises set apart by the owner as a
homestead for his or her family so long as he or she desires to occupy the same as a home for the
family, and it protects the same against proceedings by execution and attachment…but no further
protection was intended.
Local Colorado Professionals
Nationwide Title and Settlement Services
www.fntcolorado.com
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competent professional. Information contained in this newsletter is subject to change.
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