Origin of Mount Rosa Chapter
Name
Mount Rosa was an early Spanish and Indian name
for the present Mount Evans, the dominant peak of the Denver skyline. The name was
probably derived from the rose reflection which frequently appears on the peaks of the
Front Range just before sunrise.
John L. J. Hart of Denver in his Fourteen Thousand
Feet: The History of the Naming and Ascents of Colorado Peaks, states "the Indians named Mount Rosa" and it was so called until 1858, when
Bierstadt, traveling with General Lander toward Wyoming, painted the peak and renamed it
"Rosalie" after his wife. His painting was exhibited in 1861 as "Morning in
the Mountains".
In 1870, at a rally in Greeley, it was suggested this highest peak, 14264 feet, in the
Front Range be named in honor of Gov. John
Evans. The State Legislature made it official in 1895 on Evans' 81st
birthday.
