Colorado City Town Company laid claim to two square miles of land that would become Colorado City on May 22, 1859. Founded at the confluence of Fountain and Camp creeks on August 13, 1859, it was the first Pikes Peak region settlement. The founders— Melancthon Beach, Anthony Bott, George Bute, and Rufus Cable—envisioned Colorado City as a major supply hub for the new gold mines in South Park and the Blue River, where major strikes in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush had recently been made. The location for the town was selected for its proximity to Ute Pass, the route westward to the gold mines.