Colorado has been around the block a few times, and if you rewind far enough, a lot of these towns weren’t always called what they are now.
Back in the mining boom days, places were popping up overnight. When that happens, nobody’s exactly holding a committee meeting to lock in a name forever. They just slap something on it and figure it out later.
And yeah, later usually meant changing it.
Some of These Towns Had Identity Issues
Take Denver. Before it became the capital, it went through a bit of a naming phase in the 1850s. St. Charles. Auraria. Highland. It basically tried on a few outfits before settling on Denver in 1858…