When we celebrate Christmas in Colorado Springs today—with lights twinkling across the city, bustling stores, and family traditions passed down through generations—it’s easy to forget that our community began with a handful of determined settlers on the open prairie. Long before Colorado Springs had streets, churches, or even its name, the people of the brand-new Fountain Colony gathered to celebrate the very first Christmas here in 1871.
The Fountain Colony had been founded only months earlier, on July 31, 1871, as General William Jackson Palmer’s vision for a temperance-minded, beautifully-planned community at the foot of Pikes Peak. At the time of that first winter, the settlement consisted of only a few rough buildings, scattered tents, and a small number of families who had taken a chance on Palmer’s dream. The windswept plains could be harsh and lonely, especially for the women who made the journey west. In fact, the early history of the colony notes that “but few women” were present that first Christmas—among them Mary “Queen” Palmer, the general’s wife, and Rose Georgina Kingsley, an English writer and visitor who would later document those early pioneer days.
Despite the modest surroundings, the settlers were determined to create a sense of community and hope. Local histories credit Queen Palmer with organizing the very first Christmas party and Christmas tree in what would soon become Colorado Springs. A teacher and natural leader, Queen had opened the town’s first school in October of that year, teaching children in one of the unfinished colony buildings. As Christmas approached, she gathered the children and families together for a celebration that blended simple frontier life with the cherished traditions they had brought from the East.
The details that survive from that first Christmas paint a vivid picture. Rose Kingsley later wrote about the holiday meal, which featured an unforgettable combination of oyster stew and roasted antelope—a perfect illustration of life on the frontier, where settlers blended refinement with resourcefulness. The Christmas tree, likely decorated with handmade ornaments and lit with candles, would have been a rare and heartwarming sight on the Colorado plains.
It’s important to remember that this small celebration took place in a settlement that was still little more than an idea—a hopeful plan laid out on survey maps and staked into the earth. Yet for the families who gathered that evening, Christmas 1871 offered more than just a meal and music. It represented belonging, courage, faith, and the start of a community that would, within a year, adopt the name Colorado Springs.
Today, as we walk through Evergreen Cemetery—resting place to many of the early pioneers who shaped our city—we are reminded that these men and women carved out lives filled with perseverance, joy, and tradition. The first Christmas in the Fountain Colony stands as a symbol of the spirit they carried with them: a belief that even in the simplest of settings, a community could be built on hope, generosity, and gathering together.