COLORADO

The earliest automobile registration in Colorado appears to have been in the city of Denver sometime in 1902, with Colorado Springs following not long after in the summer of 1903.  By the time all local registration was invalidated by the new state registration law which took effect on July 15, 1913, over a dozen cities had registration ordinances in effect, with many more likely still waiting to be discovered.

(Alamosa (3,013)

 An undated, unmarked porcelain #14A is known, and has been

 conjectured as being from Alamosa due to the A suffix and a

 collector's note that it had been found there in 1934.  It could

 also quite possibly be a plate for a Denver motorist's second

 car, as it was the custom in Denver to assign a second car the

 same number with an "A" after it.)

Boulder (9,539)

The first registration ordinance was passed February 17, 1904, requiring owner-provided rear plates.  For a $1 fee payable to the City Clerk, motorists were issued "numbers" which were 8" x 4", the same as Denver's large dimensions.  It is unclear whether just the digits were issued, to be placed on an owner-provided background or even the vehicle itself, or whether "numbers" referred to the complete plate, such usage having been verified in period reports from other states.

Registration began on February 29, 1904, with the issuance of #111.  This was followed by the remaining eight repeating three-digit numbers from #222 to #999 before starting at #100.  Although numbering was mostly sequential after that, this early abberration wasn't the only one in terms of plate numbers.  Some owners were allowed to choose numbers of significance to them, resulting in out-of-order issuance.  A large block of numbers from the mid-100s to the mid-200s was skipped.  Meanwhile, many two-digit numbers were issued, ranging from #10 to 98, which was ironically the last number assigned in 1913.  The only one-digit numbers issued were #1, 7 and 8, with #1 being the 53rd registation issued, on August 13, 1907.  The highest sequential number issued was #514 but in total, ony 439 registrations were issued from February 29, 1904, through June 21, 1913.  The sum totals of registrations issued by calendar year are listed below:

1904   15            1908   34            1912   96

1905    6            1909   49            1913   50

1906    9            1910   77

1907   31            1911   72

Two undated leather plates are known, #B2 and #378.  The significance of the letter "B" on plate #B2 is unknown, but was thought to have been an initial for "Boulder" as an adornment by the plate's owner.  The only problem is that #2 was not a number ever issued in Boulder.  It is therefore very likely that this plate originated from another Colorado city.

(Brighton (850)

 An undated leather motorcycle plate #2 has been reported and may

 date from about 1910.)

Canon City (5,162)

According to the Canon City Record on January 19, 1911, "The records at the city clerk's office show that one hundred and thirty-seven automobile and motorcycle licenses were issued by the city during the twelve months ending with December 31."

An undated black-on-white flat plate #9 is known with "CANON" at top.  It was

registered to a 1903 Cadillac owned by mining magnate Lyman Robison of that

city.

(Central City (1,728)

 A 1907 porcelain plate has been reported.)

Colorado City (4,333)

Registration reportedly began in April 1910, and is known to have been in effect by July 21, 1910, when license #6 was issued.  Pairs of plates are known but whether pairs were required or not is uncertain.  Registration was annual, with the 1910 year expiring April 1, 1911.  A 1912 embossed white-on-dark blue Visitor plate #V 10 is known with "COLORADO CITY 1912" at top.  No 1912 resident series is known. (The city was annexed to Colorado Springs in 1917.)

Colorado Springs (29,078)

At a city council meeting on July 21, 1903, the proposed registration ordinance was amended to reduce the number height on the rear plate from 6 inches to 3 inches tall.  An article in The Horseless Age on August 12, 1903, mentions that the ordinance will pass on August 17, and will take effect immediately upon passage.  The annual fee will be $5, payable to the City Clerk, and 3-inch-tall rear license numbers are to be required.  The ordinance, #652, was indeed passed on August 17, 1903.  Numbers began with #1, although #0 was also assigned - to a police motorcycle!

A June 21, 1905, article in The Horseless Age mentions that an ordinance was introduced to require operators licenses.  Ordinance #689, passed the next day, provided for a driver's license for a 50c fee, while the annual registration fee was reduced from $5 to $2.  We don't know how many motor vehicles were registered by this time, but a Fort Worth (TX) Telegram article on October 10, 1905, mentions that a Colorado Springs automobile with plate #66 is in town visiting.  Ordinance #730, passed on March 4, 1907, mentioned the licensing of motorcycles specifically for the first time, although the earlier ordinances already covered them under all "motor vehicles".

A new ordinance, #751, was passed on April 14, 1908, requiring visitors remaining in the city longer than 3 days to obtain a "permit" from the City Clerk for a 25c fee, valid for 30 days.  This permit was to be clearly displayed on the vehicle.  Undated white-on-black embossed oval plates #341 - 1950 are known with "COLORADO SPRINGS" at top and "VISITOR" at bottom, and are only 5" x 9" in size.  When these were issued is uncertain.  While it is most likely that they date from the 1908-11 period, it's also possible they could represent a different class of visitor tag, such as the 3-day plate mentioned below, or even a 1914 issue.  The relatively high numbers seen could be the result of a 1914 vintage, when more automobiles were around, or could be explained by a multi-year progression of numbering if used for 3 or 4 years in 1908-11.

It is interesting to note that no city-issued 1912-13 resident series are known - perhaps they continued with the owner-provided plate system.  Full-size embossed Visitor plates were in use by 1912, with known examples as follows:

1912 Red on White    #V150 - V382, "COLO.SPRINGS 1912" top

1913 Black on Yellow #V105 - V600, "COLO.SPRINGS 1913" top

The highest known owner-provided resident plates are #1167.  Colorado Springs was the only other city in Colorado besides Denver to have reached four digits.  A 1909 directory lists numbers up to #513 at that time.  Ordinance #830, passed on December 21, 1910, required that plate numbers now be displayed on the front as well as the rear of each motor vehicle.

After the state law was passed on July 15, 1913, the city of Colorado Springs threatened a lawsuit to challenge the legality of the part of the law that invalidated city licensing.  The city felt that "home rule" cities should be exempted from the law.  The Secretary of State responded that if such a suit were successful, residents of those cities would still be required to purchase the state license if they planned to travel to any other part of the state outside the city.  The lawsuit was quickly dropped!

The story didn't end there, however.  The Colorado Springs city clerk announced on July 26, 1913, that due to the confusion of having city and state tags with different numbers, owners could now get a city tag with the same number as their state plate.  For example, Leonard Curtis, president of the Colorado Springs Automobile Club, switched from #603 to #8401 to match his state number 8401.  The first number assigned in the 1913 state issue to El Paso County was #8354, so this means that pre-state plates with numbers higher than that (and higher than any known Denver number) probably came from Colorado Springs during this brief era.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported on August 2, 1913, that "Approximately 1,000 visiting automobiles have received license numbers at the City Clerk's office this season.  Nearly one-half of these were given three-day tags, most of the remainder secured licenses for thirty days, while nearly 400 took licenses for six months."  The different classes of tags issued might help explain the undated oval visitor tag mentioned above.

A Denver Post article on August 3, 1913, described how the state forced the city to discontinue its Visitor plate requirement.  Another news article in the Colorado Springs Gazette on December 28, 1913, stated that 1,038 visitor licenses had been issued in 1913, and listed how many had been issued to visitors from each state; unfortunately not all of these figures are legible.  The most visitors, however, came from Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas.

Finally, in November 1913, a petition containing over 600 signatures was presented to the city council, requesting a repeal of the city requirement for city licensing of automobiles and motorcycles.  The city council passed the repeal on December 3, 1913, officially ending the prestate era in Colorado (except for state motorcycle plates).  But that didn't conclude the saga regarding Visitor plates...

Several Colorado Springs Gazette news articles in July 1914 reported that the City Clerk was again issuing Visitor tags, although it's unclear under what authority.  We suspect that, by this time, no fee was charged for Visitor tags, so the state didn't object to them.  The July 18 headline "VISITORS' TAGS MUST NOT COVER LICENSE NUMBERS" precedes an article discussing the display of these local rear tags.  On July 28, it was reported that 430 visitors' tags had been issued as of the day before.  The following article appeared on August 5:

      "MANY AUTOMOBILE TOURISTS"

      "During the last eight days 179 automobile tourists have registered at

       the office of City Clerk Chapman, making the total number of such

       tourists who have registered there this year 599.  These numbers, the

       city officials believe, do not come near representing the total number

       of automobile parties who have visited Colorado Springs from other

       state[s] this year."

No 1914-dated tags are known, despite over 600 issued, but the possibility remains that the undated oval tags mentioned above might have been the 1914 issue.

Our belief that the city was issuing the licenses at no cost is based on the following article which appeared in the Washington Post on June 7, 1914:

      "Announcement is made by the Colorado Good Roads Association bulletin

       that all tourists who spend three months or less in Colorado this

       summer will not be required to pay license tax.  In the past years

       tourists to Colorado have been required to pay a license tax in every

       town in which they tarried longer than three days."

This seems to be a clear reference to Colorado Springs, which we know had a license that was required after three days in the city.  It doesn't seem likely that every town charged a tax after that exact same period of days.

Colorado Springs' interest in exercising regulation over the many summer tourists in the Pike's Peak area seems to have finally been resolved by the issuance of free Colorado Visitor plates by the state in 1915, issued singly, to be displayed on the rear of the vehicle along with the home state's plate.

Del Norte (840)

Two undated white-on-red porcelains, #105 and #117, are known with "DEL NORTE" at bottom.

Denver (213,381)

The first automobile in Denver arrived on May 2, 1899.  A bill was drafted on July 30, 1902, to require city-issued rear plates.  "Owners...shall obtain such numbers from city treasurer, sign to be 8 x 4 inches, or thereabouts, as provided by said treasurer; they shall pay a fee of $1.00 for same..."  It is believed that Denver's first ordinance was passed sometime in 1902.  A Kansas City (MO) Star article on September 26, 1902, mentions Denver's giant numbers, which were 8 inches tall and 4 inches wide.  Motor Age reports on January 1, 1905, that "there are now about 500 licensed automobiles..."

An amended ordinance was passed on April 12, 1906.  A certificate for license #1 for a Stephens automobile is dated July 11, 1906, but this is most likely a transfer registration from an earlier vehicle, since license #887 was issued earlier than this, on May 6, 1906.  By June 26, 1909, pairs of plates were required and numbers were to be a minimum of 4 inches tall, not 8 inches.

The highest Denver prestate known is #7529.  Also, #7862 was found with a group of Denver County 1913-20 plates.  (Any Colorado pre-state plate found with #8354 or higher would probably be a Colorado Springs issue.)  It was also the custom in Denver for owners having a second car to use the same number as on their first one, but with a letter "A" after the number.

According to a Denver Post news article on August 3, 1913, city officials were notified the day before by Colorado Secretary of State Pearce that the issuance of Denver visitor licenses must cease.  Previously, visitors could apply to the police station for a license and tag valid for up to 30 days upon payment of a $1 fee, refundable upon returning the tag.  We have no knowledge of what this type of Denver tag looked like.

Florence (2,712)

An undated leather plate #F.65. is verified with a vertical "COL" suffix and was reportedly found in Florence.  However, it is uncertain if this plate was actually issued in Florence or some other city starting with "F", such as Fort Collins.

Fort Collins (8,210)

Registration is known by 1909 with owner-provided plates.  #1 to #132 were listed in the 1909 directory, and plate #143 is the highest known.  By 1912, numbers were up to about 400, and although the $2 license fee was annual, few motorists complied with the ordinance.

The Fort Collins Express and Review of January 23, 1913, had the headline "CITY AUTO LICENSE COMES UP MONDAY".  The article stated:  "An ordinance which promises to work for the greater advertisement of Fort Collins, that which provides for the issuance of a permanent city automobile license for $1.00 will come up for discussion at Monday night's meeting of the city council.  City Clerk Baxter is responsible for the idea, which is undoubtedly a good one and it is believed that all of the automobile owners who are alone affected are heartily in favor of the ordinance.  The special licenses which were drafted by Baxter have arrived and present a very striking appearance.  At the top are the words Fort Collins in bold letters while the number appears below.  These license numbers start at 100.  The licenses are ready now and will be put on sale at $1.00 as soon as the city council passes the ordinance.  The city license is designed not only to advertise the city but to help the police as well."

It seems doubtful that these plates were ever issued.  The state senate automobile bill was already in progress by February 8, 1913, and the city council waited to see if state registration would be passed, which it ultimately was on April 12.  A new automobile ordinance wasn't passed until that summer, and dealt with speed limits and rules of the road only.

(Fort Morgan (2,800)

 No registration was required as of 1909, but 24 automobile owners were

 still listed in the 1909 directory.)

Greeley (8,179)

The Greeley Tribune reported on May 26, 1909, that "The city clerk has issued a total of 144 auto licenses and of these about twenty-five are motorcycles."  Registration was in effect using owner-provided plates.  Another report on October 26, 1911, stated that "There are 515 machines now registered with the city clerk."

La Junta (4,154)

Registration is known by 1909 with owner-provided plates.  21 owners were registered by that date.

(Longmont (4,256)

 No registration was required as of 1909, but 37 automobile owners were still

 listed in the 1909 directory.)

(Loveland (3,651)

 No registration was required as of 1909, but 44 automobile owners were still

 listed in the 1909 directory.)

Manitou

An early postcard clearly shows an automobile with Manitou pre-state plate #3.

(Mancos (567)

 An undated leather #1M has been reported as being from Mancos.)

Monte Vista (2,544)

An ordinance was passed March 4, 1909, requiring a $2 fee to the Town Recorder, and a town-issued rear plate with numbers 3 inches tall, and "over or near the number" the initials "M.V.".  Non-residents were exempted for 7 days, and motorcycles were exempted by omission from the ordinance.  Three varieties of undated white-on-blue porcelains are known, all with a vertical "MV" suffix:

Type 1 - 6" x 10", ornate font  #17 - 100

Type 2 - 5" x 10", square font #154 - 178

Type 3 - 6" x 10", wide font   #208 - 285

(Morgan County (9,577)

 86 automobiles were reported as of September 1911.)

Pueblo (44,395)

A miscellaneous city license was issued on August 24, 1905, upon payment of a $2.50 fee, for "Automobile No. 23 'Oldsmobile'" under Ordinance #700.  By 1909, owner-provided plates with a "P" suffix are known to have been in use.  1913 city-issued embossed white-on-blue plates are known with "PUEBLO" vertically at left and "1913" vertically at right.  #3, #309 and #441 are known, with the #3 plate having flanking dashes.  Another known plate, #187, is of the same design but painted on flat metal, and believed to be an owner-provided replacement plate.

Rocky Ford (3,230)

By April 1, 1908, owner-provided plates are known to have been in use.  An undated leather plate #R74F is known.  A porcelain plate was reportedly issued later.  The 1909 directory lists numbers 1 to 60 as having been issued.

(Saguache (620)

 Undated unissued uniform leather plates from c.1912 are known with

 numbers #120S to 125S.)

Salida (4,425)

An ordinance with two dates, July 19, 1909, and January 17, 1912, required motor vehicle owners to register with the City Clerk, pay a fee of $2 for automobiles or $1 for motorcycles, and display a city-issued single plate.  It is not known if smaller motorcycle plates were issued, or if they used the same plates as automobiles.  The fee also came with an operator's license!  Non-residents were exempted from registration if staying for two weeks or less.  Several undated 6" x 10" white-on-red porcelain plates are known, ranging from #4 to #121.

Sterling (3,044)

By 1909, owner-provided plates are known to have been in use, with 26 owners having registered by that date.

Trinidad (10,204)

Owner-provided plates are known to have been in use by 1909.  Numbers began at #100.  An undated leather plate #T232 is known, but the ordinance clearly states that "Owners shall equip machines with the number of license certificate in Arabic numerals...This number shall be followed by the letter "T" for Trinidad."  Therefore, the "T" should be a suffix, not a prefix.