History Colorado

Denver Public Library, Special Collections and Archives

Colorado has a long, rich history of African American owned businesses and enterprise. This history is best exhibited in communities such as  Denver’s Five Points.  Five Points became a central point for African Americans moving to Denver in the 1920s.

Early History - Entrepreneurs

Camp Nizhoni was founded in 1924 in response to the segregationist policies of the time, which prevented African American girls from attending the same YWCA camps as white children. 

Lincoln Hills - Camp Nizhoni

Early History - Political Leaders

10th Cavalry soldiers in uniform at Fort Washakie, Wyoming.  More than 180,000 African Americans fought for the Union Army in the Civil War. Of them, more than 33,000 died. War’s end left the future of the Army’s African Americans in doubt.

Early History - Buffalo Soldiers

The early trappers and fur traders, who came to be known in the West as Mountain Men, were the pioneer explorers of Colorado.

Early History - Mountain Men

African American Cowboy, c. 1900, possibly taken around Leadville, Colorado.

Early History - Cowboys

Opened in 1922 by Black entrepreneurs from Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, Lincoln Hills was an oasis in a segregated society—the biggest resort west of the Mississippi built BY and FOR African Americans. People from across the country came to Lincoln Hills to camp, stay in Wink’s Lodge, or buy a lot and build a cabin.


Lincoln Hills

Thanks to the all-Black Phyllis Wheatley branch of the YWCA and the vision of the Lincoln Hills Development Corporation, the YWCA established Camp Nizhoni at Lincoln Hills. The name comes from the Navajo word for “beautiful.” Segregation kept African American women and girls from attending the nearby YWCA girls’ camp at Lookout Mountain. So every summer, up to fifty girls went to Camp Nizhoni to hike, swim and learn outdoor skills. After 18 years in operation, Camp Nizhoni closed in 1945 with the integration of Camp Lookout.


Lincoln Hills - Camp Nizhoni Album

There were no formal Jim Crow laws in Denver, home to Colorado’s largest African American community. But Black citizens still faced widespread discrimination in the early twentieth century. Denver’s Five Points neighborhood created a sense of community when people  had trouble finding housing except in limited areas, were largely confined to low-paying jobs, and met with segregation in schools, parks, and other public places.  CLICK ON THE STARTS TO EXPLORE DENVER IN THE 1920s.

Explore Denver in the 1920s

Explore the development of civil rights throughout Colorado and the United States of America.

Civil Rights Timeline

In the early 1920s, Denver entrepreneur Obrey Wendell Hamlet, known as “Wink,” set out to build a resort in Lincoln Hills. He and first wife Naomi broke ground on a three-story, six-bedroom lodge in 1925 and finished it three years later. They officially named it Wink's Panorama, but everyone knew it as Wink's Lodge.  Wink's Lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980


Lincoln Hills - Wink's Lodge

From exploring the Colorado territory to fighting discrimination, to expanding voting rights, African American people have had a long and active role in shaping Colorado's past and present.


Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library

Letter From Birmingham Jail-Martin Luther King Jr.

Early African American History in Colorado

U.S. History

Social Studies

As cars became common in the 1920s, Americans took to the road—but Black travelers often had trouble finding hotels and restaurants that would serve them. Lincoln Hills and its hotel, Wink’s Lodge, ranked among the most popular Black-friendly destinations. Billed as “a national gathering place for the colored race during the summer months,” the resort played host to writer Langston Hughes, bandleader Count Basie, and other prominent African Americans.


Small lots, only 25 feet by 100 feet, were sold for between $50 and $100 each, with payment plans for as little as $1 down and $1 per week. Typically they had cabins erected on them or were used for camping. The core ownership group was found in the African American community of Denver but people from all over the country owned property at Lincoln Hills.


Brochure of Lincoln Hills and lots advertised for purchase.

William Pitts (original contractor for Lincoln Hills cabins) writes to the  Lincoln Hills Company to describe his experience at Lincoln Hills. He also states that he is available to provide his services to others looking to build in the area. 

Passengers look out windows as a group of African American campers and their counselors from Camp Nizhoni (Gilpin County), Colorado stand near a D.& R.G.W. Railroad train near Lincoln Hills. 

A group of African American teenagers at Camp Nizhoni in Lincoln Hills (Gilpin County), Colorado pose atop a tailings pile near either a silver, gold or tungsten mine.

Fourteen African American campers (including Mary Frances) stand near a truck on the Camp Nizhoni campground in Lincoln Hills (Gilpin County), Colorado. 

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Early African American History in Colorado

Lincoln Hills

Background Knowledge

A Safe Space