 On November 22 , 1858 , General William Larimer , a land speculator from eastern Kansas Territory , placed cottonwood logs to stake a claim on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek , across the creek from the existing mining settlement of Auraria , and on the site of the existing townsite of St. Charles . Larimer named the town site Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver . Larimer hoped that the town 's name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County , but unknown to him Governor Denver had already resigned from office . The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne and Arapaho . The site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver . Larimer , along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company , sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners , with the intention of creating a major city that would cater to new emigrants . Denver City was a frontier town , with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling , saloons , livestock and goods trading . In the early years , land parcels were often traded for <unk> or gambled away by miners in Auraria . In May 1859 , Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pike 's Peak Express in order to secure the region 's first overland wagon route . Offering daily service for " passengers , mail , freight , and gold , " the Express reached Denver on a trail that trimmed westward travel time from twelve days to six . In 1863 , Western Union furthered Denver 's dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus . 
