Arvada - On December 1, 1870, soon after the construction of a railroad near the settlement, and six years before Colorado would achieve statehood, legal notice was posted for the new Town of Arvada. Arvada began in 1850 when a wagon train of prospectors, bound for California, crossed the Platte River just north of the confluence with Clear Creek, and followed Clear Creek west for six miles. The members of the wagon train rested for a day, and Lewis Ralston dipped his gold pan in an unnamed mountain stream. He found almost $5 worth of gold in his first pan. Once known as the celery capital of the world, not al prospectors struck it rich so a small farming community sprung up producing wheat, corn, oats, plums, celery, cherries, berries, melons, strawberries, and vegetables. With a population of 103,125, Arvada maintains a small town feel while also being known as one of the most progressive cities in the Denver metro area.

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