Map

The First District

Colorado Congressional Delegation

 

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History of the First District

Colorado was admitted as a state into the Union on August 1, 1876. Its first Congressional delegation (two Senators and one Representative) arrived in Washington late in 1876, at the end of the 44th Congress. Colorado remained a one-district state until the 53rd Congress (1893-1895), when it was split into two districts.

The 1st District has always included either major portions of Denver or the city in its totality. Reappointment created two additional districts at the start of the 64th Congress (1915- 1917). A fifth district was added at the start of the 93rd Congress (1973-1975). The 1980 Census returns led to the creation of a sixth district at the start of the 98th Congress (1983-1985). Following the 2000 Census, a seventh district was added during the 106th Congress.

Colorado 1st District Member History

Congress granted the territory of Colorado one at-large delegate seat on February 28, 1861. Late in 1861 Colorado's first delegate, Hiram P. Bennett, took his seat in the House.

Colorado's First District Delegates:

Name

Took Office

Left Office

Congress

Hiram P. Bennett Dec 2, 1861 Mar 3, 1865 37th - 38th
Allen A. Bradford Mar 4, 1865 Mar 3, 1867 39th
George M. Chilcott Mar 20, 1867 Mar 3, 1869 40th
Allen A. Bradford Mar 4, 1869 Mar 3, 1871 41st
Jerome B. Chaffee Mar 4, 1871 Mar 3, 1875 42nd- 43rd
Thomas B. Patterson Mar 4, 1875 Aug 1, 1876 44th
James B. Belford (R)1 Oct 3, 1876 Dec 13, 1877 44th - 45th
Thomas M. Patterson (D)2 Dec 13, 1877 Mar 3, 1879 45th
James B. Belford (R) Mar 4, 1879 Mar 3, 1885 46th - 48th
George G. Symes (R) Mar 4, 1885 Mar 3, 1889 49th - 50th
Hosea Townsend (R) Mar 4, 1889 Mar 3, 1893 51st - 52nd
Lafayette Pence (Populist) Mar 4, 1893 Mar 3, 1895 53rd
John F. Shafroth
(R, SR, D)3
Mar 4, 1895 Feb 15, 1904 54th - 58th
Robert W. Bonyage (R)4 Feb 16, 1904 Mar 3, 1909 58th - 60th
Atterson W. Rucker (D) Mar 4, 1909 Mar 3, 1913 61st - 62nd
George J. Kindel (D) Mar 4, 1913 Mar 3, 1915 63rd
Benjamin C. Hilliard (D) Mar 4, 1915 Mar 3, 1919 64th - 65th
William N. Vaile (R)5 Mar 4, 1919 July 2, 1927 66th - 70th
Sebastian H. White (D)6 Nov 15, 1927 May 3, 1929 70th
William R. Eaton (R) Mar 4, 1929 Mar 3, 1933 71st - 72nd
Lawrence Lewis (D)7 Mar 4, 1933 Dec 9, 1943 73rd - 78th
Dean M. Gillespie (R)8 Mar 7, 1944 Jan 3, 1947 78th - 79th
John A. Carroll (D) Jan 3, 1947 Jan 3, 1951 80th-81st
Byron G. Rogers (D) Jan 3, 1951 Jan 3, 1973 82nd - 91st
James D. McKevitt (R) Jan 3, 1971 Jan 3, 1973 92nd
Patricia Schroeder (D) Jan 3, 1973 Jan 3, 1997 93rd - 104th

Diana L. DeGette (D)

Jan 3, 1997 Present 105th -
present

1Belford was succeeded as a member of the 45th Congress after the results of his 1876 election were contested by Thomas M. Patterson and overturned.

2Patterson successfully contested the results of his 1876 race against James B. Belford and took his seat on December 13, 1877

3Shafroth won the election to the 54th Congress as a Republican. From the 55th to 57thth Congresses, he was elected as a Silver Republican. In 1902, he was elected to the 58 Congress as a Democrat. He was succeeded on Feb. 16, 1904, after he declared in a speech on the House floor his conviction that his opponent, Robert W. Bonynge, had been duly elected.

4Bonyage successfully contested the results of his election against John F. Shafroth in the 1902 election. He took his seat on Feb. 16, 1904

5Vaile died in office on July 2, 1927

6White won a special election to fill the seat of deceased William N. Vaile on Nov. 15, 1927

7Lewis died in office on Dec. 9, 1943

8Gillespie won a special election to fill the seat vacated by the death of Lawrence Lewis on Mar. 7, 1944

 

Facts About the First District

Cities
Denver, Englewood, Glendale, Cherry Hills Village, and Sheridan

Counties
Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, and Adams counties are all at least partially represented by the First District

Population 

Population (2000) 614,465
Population (1990)   549,053
Increase (1990-2000) 20.7%


Elevation    
5,280 feet (1 mile)

Weather   

Average Annual Snowfall

55.4 inches

Average Annual Rainfall

15.4 inches

Average February High Temperature

50 Degrees F

Average August High Temperature

86 Degrees F

Average Days of Sunshine  sunshine

300+  


Major Industries    
Communications, Utilities, Transportation, Tourism