Colorado combines America250 with a 150th-anniversary celebration in 2026.
Colorado entered the Union as the 38th state on August 1, 1876, during the United States centennial year. One hundred fifty years later, Colorado’s state anniversary coincides with the nation’s semiquincentennial, creating the paired “America 250–Colorado 150” commemoration.
The Colorado General Assembly established the state commission through Senate Bill 22-011, which Governor Jared Polis signed on May 26, 2022. History Colorado hosts the commission and coordinates programs connecting national and state history.
Colorado’s nickname, the Centennial State, comes from its admission to the Union in 1876, exactly one century after the Declaration of Independence. That nickname makes the 2026 pairing especially notable: the state’s sesquicentennial arrives during the nation’s 250th anniversary year.