History Colorado

The person who took the initiative in founding the State Historical Society of Colorado was William D. Todd. He was taken as a small boy to live in Washington D.C., and at the age of eleven was appointed a page in the House of Representatives. Later he became a clerk for Schuyler Colfax and then served as his private secretary while Colfax was Speaker of the House and later Vice President.

 

Todd first came to Colorado with the Colfax Party on a vacation trip in 1868. He returned in 1873 and settled here, first practicing law and then going into banking. In 1878, he was elected into the lower House of Colorado legislature. On January 23, 1879, Mr. Todd introduced "House Bill No. 134, a bill for an act to encourage the formation and establishment of a State historical and natural history society", which achieved final passage on February 6th.

 

Today the society he founded is known as History Colorado.