A Brief History of Erie
Erie developed as a coal-mining community on Colorado’s northern Front Range. Its original town plat was filed in 1871, the same year a railroad spur connected the local coalfields with the Denver–Cheyenne rail corridor. Rail transport expanded markets for Erie coal, which supplied steam locomotives and customers as far away as Kansas City. Reverend Richard Van Valkenburg named the community after Erie, Pennsylvania, where he had previously preached in coal towns. Erie incorporated on November 16, 1874. Its early town hall served several purposes, housing public meetings and classes before a separate schoolhouse was available.