Heele County, Jefferson Territory

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Heele County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861. It may also have been known as Steele County.

County (United States) Subdivision used by most states in the United States of America

In the United States, an administrative or political subdivision of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 U.S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs respectively.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Contents

History

In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska, so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859. On November 28, the General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson organized 12 counties: Arrappahoe County, Cheyenne County, El Paso County, Fountain County, Heele County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Mountain County, North County, Park County, Saratoga County, and St. Vrain's County. [1] The legislation that created Heele County declared:

South Platte River principal tributary of the Platte River

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. Its drainage basin includes much of the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado; much of the populated region known as the Colorado Front Range and Eastern Plains; and a portion of southeastern Wyoming in the vicinity of the city of Cheyenne. It joins the North Platte River in western Nebraska to form the Platte, which then flows across Nebraska to the Missouri. The river serves as the principal source of water for eastern Colorado. In its valley along the foothills in Colorado, it has permitted agriculture in an area of the Colorado Piedmont and Great Plains that is otherwise arid.

Arapahoe County was a county of Kansas Territory in the United States that existed from August 25, 1855, until Kansas's admission into the Union on January 29, 1861.

Pikes Peak Gold Rush boom in gold prospecting and mining in Kansas and Nebraska Territories from July 1858 to 1861

The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. An estimated 100,000 gold seekers took part in one of the greatest gold rushes in North American history.

That the territory comprised within the following limits, be erected into a county to be called Heele: commencing at the south east corner of Town Range 4, North 69 West; thence north to the north east corner of Town 69 West Range 10 North, thence west to the summit of the Rocky Mountains; thence southwardly to the north west corner of Jackson county; thence east to the place of beginning.

Heele County encompassed much of what is today Larimer County, Colorado.

Larimer County, Colorado County in the United States

Larimer County is one of the 64 counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 299,630. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver.

The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act organizing the Territory of Colorado. [2] On November 1, 1861, the Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties, including Larimer County, for the new Colorado Territory.

James Buchanan 15th president of the United States

James Buchanan Jr. was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861), serving immediately prior to the American Civil War. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 17th United States secretary of state and had served in the Senate and House of Representatives before becoming president.

Colorado General Assembly State legislature

The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.). The session laws are published in the Session Laws of Colorado.

Elections And Elected Officials

If identified as Steele County, the first office holding official was Antoine Jeness, appointed by Governor Robert Williamson Steele in December 1859 as President Judge of Steele County. He was to hold office until the county's first popular election was held on January 2, 1860.

Robert Williamson Steele American politician

Robert Williamson Steele was governor of the extralegal Territory of Jefferson, which existed in the western United States of America from 1859 to 1861, when it was replaced by the Territory of Colorado.

Election process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office

An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is also used in many other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

See also

Related Research Articles

Jefferson Territory extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from 1859 to 1861

The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory included land officially part of the Kansas Territory, the Nebraska Territory, the New Mexico Territory, the Utah Territory, and the Washington Territory, but the area was remote from the governments of those five territories. The government of the Jefferson Territory, while democratically elected, was never legally recognized by the United States government, although it managed the territory with relatively free rein for 16 months. Many of the laws enacted by the Jefferson Territorial Legislature were reenacted and given official sanction by the new Colorado General Assembly in 1861.

Jefferson County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861. Its territory covered a broad swath surrounding the region of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, and was a functioning democratically elected government until the organization of the Territory of Colorado in 1861. At that time, the successor Jefferson County was permanently created, taking its name from its predecessor and incorporating the heart of its territory.

Broderick County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed for two years from February 7, 1859 to January 29, 1861. It was named for David C. Broderick, a California senator.

El Paso County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed for two years from February 7, 1859, to January 29, 1861.

Fremont County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed for two years from February 7, 1859, to January 29, 1861.

Montana County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed from February 2, 1859 to January 29, 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a state.

Oro County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed from February 7, 1859 to January 29, 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a state.

Peketon County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed from February 7, 1859 to January 29, 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a state.

Arapahoe County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861. The county name was also spelled Arapaho County, Arapahoe County, Arrapahoe County, and Arappahoe County. The county seat was Denver City.

Cheyenne County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

El Paso County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861. The county seat was Colorado City.

Fountain County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

Jackson County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

Mountain County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

North County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

Park County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

Saratoga County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

Index of Colorado-related articles

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Colorado.

St. Vrain's County was a county of the extralegal United States Territory of Jefferson that existed from November 28, 1859, until February 28, 1861.

References

  1. ↑ "An Act Defining the Boundaries of Counties and for other purposes". Provisional Laws and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of Jefferson Territory. General Assembly of the Territory of Jefferson. November 28, 1859. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ "An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado" (PDF). Thirty-sixth United States Congress. 1861-02-28. Retrieved 2007-11-26.

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