Colorado is pairing America’s 250th anniversary with its own 150th anniversary in 2026.
Colorado became the 38th U.S. state on August 1, 1876, in the same year as the nation’s centennial celebration. Its 150th anniversary of statehood therefore falls in 2026, alongside the United States Semiquincentennial.
The combined initiative is known as the America 250–Colorado 150 Commission. The commission coordinates programs recognizing both national independence and Colorado’s statehood, giving the state a distinctive “250 plus 150” anniversary year.
Colorado’s statehood date is sometimes confused with the 1859 founding of Denver or the 1861 organization of the Colorado Territory. Those earlier milestones are important to the state’s history, but the 150th anniversary in 2026 concerns admission to the Union in 1876.