Today's Colorado Springs is known for the fact that it is a natural retreat located at the base of one of Colorado's many 14'ers, Pikes Peak.  Once considered a part of an unconquerable alpine wilderness, too rugged for human territory the beauty of the Colorado Springs area drew settlers from several local Native American tribes early on in its history, including the Arapaho and Cheyenne. They found the land rich with wild game, pheasants and pure mineral springs and so thrived on it for several hundred years before the European settlers came.

In the first decade of the nineteenth century, fearless explorers began to push further west in search of land, fur and wealth that they were starting to lack. In 1806 a young lieutenant in the United States Army, Zebulon Pike headed the most famous expedition to the Colorado Springs area. Upon sight of the enormous mountain of Pike’s Peak, he vowed to conquer it, not an easy feat. His small climbing party was battered by a winter storm and eventually had to concede the climb. Nevertheless, Pike was later honored for his determined quest and so the unconquerable mountain was named after him.

Later, in the years before the turn of the century, the new city flourished as a western retreat for upscale travelers from New England, who were in search of their wilder sides. It was during this time that the Antlers Hotel, now was constructed and it was then the first incarnation of a Colorado Springs institution. The larger-than-life frontier environment and warm lodge-like accommodations attracted people from the upper society.  Americans were not the only ones enchanted by the majesty of Colorado, many British tourists frequented the town during the summer months, and the city was dubbed "Little London."

This peaceful and not yet fully exposed get away was shattered in 1891 when gold was struck in the city's neighboring town of Cripple Creek. Colorado Springs experienced a huge influx of people, the population tripled, and people from all people eager to claim their part of the riches came to town. Many of these new residents met their dream home and settled in Colorado Springs as gold-rush millionaires.

Today, the city boasts an impressive history as a gold-mining boomtown, a posh western resort and one of the nation's major military capitals. Technology is now a major part of the diverse mix of Colorado Springs citizens, and more people than ever are being drawn to live near our majestic mountains.