EARLY DAYS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 1 9 



Boulder County was represented in the territorial House during 

 its eighth session by J. H. Wells, of Burlington; Boulder and Gilpin 

 counties by Thomas J. Graham, of Boulder. Burlington was at that 

 time a thriving young city of the plains, later absorbed by Longmont 

 near which it was located. On January 7, 1870, Thomas J. Graham 

 introduced into the House a bill for an act to amend the act of Novem- 

 ber 7, 1 86 1. 1 The measure was referred to the committee on incor- 

 porations of which J. H. Wells was chairman. 2 The committee in its 

 report recommended that the name Boulder City should be struck out 

 and that of Burlington inserted as the site of the university. 3 A 

 minority report of the committee, signed by T. J. Campbell and T. J. 

 Graham, protested against this change of location. 4 Against it they 

 argued the better location of Boulder at the base of the mountains, its 

 superior advantages from a material point of view with special refer- 

 ence to its stone quarries and timber and, they add, "that the citizens 

 of Boulder and vicinity have agreed to contribute the sum of ten 

 thousand dollars in money and in land in aid of said university." 5 

 The citizens of both Boulder and Burlington sent delegations to 

 Denver in an endeavor to have the university located in their respec- 

 tive towns and Boulder won. On January 18 Mr. Graham's bill, 

 unamended, passed the House by a vote of 19 to 6, Mr. Wells voting 

 in the negative. 6 It went to the Council and received the unanimous 

 vote of that body. 7 It was approved by the governor on January 25, 

 1870. 8 This, the second university act, reconstructed the board of 

 trustees, adding the names of John H. Wells, G. Gerkley, Thomas J. 

 Graham, Amos Widner and James M. Smith, of Larimer County. 

 Messrs. Berkley, Graham and Widner were residents of Boulder. 



Under the impetus of the new act the university question at once 

 showed signs of life. On January 29, 1870, the board of trustees held 



1 Rouse Journal, 8th session, p. 18. This was House Bill No. 2. According to Mr. Eugene Wilder, of 

 Boulder, Mr. Graham had been elected because of his intense interest in the university proposition. 



•Ibid., p. 27. ' Ibid., p. 28. < Ibid., pp. 51-52. 



J I have not been able to trace these subscriptions. The Boulder News on January 18, 1870, refers to 

 subscriptions "to the amount of thousands of dollars." 



* House Journal, 8th session, p. 55. 



» Council Journal, 8th session, p. 130. 



■ For the act, see General Laws, 8th session, pp. 110-11. 



