Gold discovered in the South Platte River Valley in 1858 brought national attention to the area that would become Westminster, Colorado. The promise of fortune and The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged many pioneers from the east to settle in Colorado rather than continue on to California. Before the settlements came, wildlife like antelope and buffalo made their homes in the area. There is also evidence of Arapaho Indians near the Crown Point (Gregory Hill) area. Westminster’s’ first permanent settler was Kentucky farmer Pleasant DeSpain, who built his home in 1870 on 160 acres (near what is now West 76th Avenue and Lowell Street). The area became known as DeSpain Junction and attracted other settlers including Edward Bruce Bowles, who in 1881 constructed a brick Italianate house now known as the Bowles House. Today Westminster has a population of 114,282.
The Butterfly Pavilion is a lush conservatory home to 1,600 free-flying butterflies, including the brilliant blue morpho and a giant endangered species from Australia. The pavilion is one of the area’s most popular family attractions.
Those with kids in tow can also play a round at Adventure Golf & Raceway, or discover excellent hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing and wildlife watching at the town’s Stanley Lake Regional Park. Stanley Lake, the Denver metro area’s third-largest reservoir, is stocked regularly with walleye, bass and trout and offers opportunities to spot bald eagles, raptors, coyotes, red foxes, burrowing owls and mule deer.
While new structures have been built throughout Westminster, the town’s history is carefully preserved at the Westminster History Center (open Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm or by appointment). Westminster’s Pillar of Fire building (also known as Westminster Castle), a majestic neo-Romanesque-style building built in 1892, is another interesting tribute to the past. Numerous other structures are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.